When a person places their trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Scripture declares that a profound transfer has taken place: they have been moved from death into life. In that moment of genuine faith, their sins are forgiven, they are justified before a holy God, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and assured of their future participation in the great resurrection at the end of the age. This is the miracle of salvation by grace.
Yet this raises a question that has challenged believers throughout history: what kind of faith truly saves? The issue is not merely whether one claims to believe, but how one receives Jesus Christ. Is salvation granted through faith alone, or does it depend on human effort? Must a person meet certain moral standards, observe ceremonial requirements, or perform charitable works to secure God’s acceptance? Or is saving faith simply a wholehearted trust in who Christ is and what He accomplished at the cross of Calvary?
The apostle Paul confronts this very question in Galatians 3. The Galatians had begun to drift from the simplicity of the gospel, subtly adding human effort to divine grace through the addition of legal requirements. Paul’s argument in this chapter cuts through every distortion and brings us back to the heart of the matter: the only faith that saves is the faith that rests entirely on Christ’s finished work, without supplement, without addition, without reliance on human merit.
In this crucial passage, Paul will show that the gospel has always operated on this principle—from Abraham to the present hour—and that true righteousness has never come through works of the law but through believing the promise of God. Here, Paul answers this question of what saving faith really is and how a sinner is made right with God.
The Text
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun y the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. (Galatians 3:1-9)
After Paul’s testimony to substantiate his authority and that of his message, the apostle moves from where he left off in Galatians 1:6-8,11 in addressing the Galatians directly. His aim is to demonstrate the superiority and vitality of the Spirit‑led life of faith in contrast to the bondage and insufficiency of the law.
A Witch’s Spell
He begins this chapter with more harsh words against the recipients by referring to them as “foolish Galatians” (in contrast to calling them brothers) followed by a derogatory question: Who has bewitched you? The expression bewitched (βασκαινω) is only used here in scripture. Thayer renders it as “of those who lead away others into error by wicked arts”[1]. It refers largely to someone casting a spell on another to control them. They had been presented with the open and unmistakable portrayal of Christ’s crucifixion. What they saw was not vague or symbolic; they had received a graphic, compelling picture of the message of the cross itself. Now, they were being lead away from the pure picture that was painted for them.
Hearing of Faith?
Paul now follows with a series of pointed questions, urging the Galatians to consider the implications of accepting circumcision as an added requirement to the gospel. The first of these questions is based upon how they had received the Holy Spirit. This is the reality that occurs when someone receives Jesus Christ, an experience Scripture equates with receiving life (Romans 8:9–10). This parallels Galatians 2:16, where Paul contrasts the basis of justification—not the works of the law, but faith in Jesus Christ. In the same way Paul used the metaphor of the eyes seeing the crucified Lord, this time he uses a similar expression: “hearing of faith”. Once again, the expression appears to emphasize the act of receiving a message. Naturally, the implied answer to his rhetorical question is that the Spirit was received through the hearing of faith, not by meeting the requirements of the law—echoing the central message of the entire epistle.
The Foolish Runner
Where verse 2 focuses on how they first received the Spirit, in v.3, Paul now shifts to the means by which their ongoing sanctification and spiritual maturity are to be carried out. Paul begins by asking them “are you so foolish?” His question is not meant to be answered; it is intended to awaken them to their folly. Did the Galatians truly think they could begin the race by the Spirit and then finish it by the flesh. Would they depend upon God to finish the race (Philippians 1:6) or depend on their own merits? While we don’t want to miss that contrast between Spirit and Flesh, we also want to be mindful of the parallel between flesh and law. One of the prominent themes in Paul’s epistles is this contrast and he even goes as far as identifying a true Jew in this manner[2]:
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (Romans 2:28-29)
We will see this again in chapter 4 (vv. 23 and 29), where Paul contrasts those “born of the flesh” with those “born of the Spirit.” He will also show the outcomes of living according to the flesh in Galatians 5:16–24.
The Vain Walk
In verse 4, Paul moves to his fourth question by addressing their experience as Christians thus far. The Galatians had obviously experienced many things in their walk in the Spirit and Paul asks if these things were “in vain”. Did these experiences not bear any fruit or were they purposeless? But what were these “many things” that they had experienced? One of the things it could be was the miracles of v.5. But the word used here is probably speaking of a type of suffering like that of trials and persecution. Yet, at the end of this verse, Paul seems to pitch to them a hopefulness that it wasn’t in vain.
Miracles
The Abraham Way
We now shift to the chapter’s dominant theme in v.6—the example of the patriarch Abraham. If one is going to argue for the covenant blessings brought on by circumcision, then the promises to this patriarch can’t be ignored. In fact, the very foundation of being an Israelite was that you were a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) and those who finds an ancestral association with the 12 sons of Israel. God promised that:
And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
So, to the Judaizers, this sign of circumcision was the true means to receive all these blessings. But Paul now turns the argument around and reminds the Galatians of another truth tied to the patriarch: Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness.[3] It wasn’t the circumcision that made Abraham right with God, but his faith. This refers back to Genesis 15:6, where Abraham believed God concerning the promises, and later demonstrated that faith in Genesis 22. Abraham is indeed said to have obeyed God’s commands (Genesis 26:5), and the extension of the blessings to future generations is linked to that obedience. However, Paul’s point is that Abraham was counted righteous on the basis of faith, not adherence to the law—especially since the Torah had not yet been given.
Abraham’s Seed
God Proclaims the Good News
In verse 8, Paul now appeals to the highest authority—the Scriptures themselves. Even an apostle who received divine revelation sets the example that we should appeal to scripture. This verse also gives us a hint of the eschatological nature of the scriptures in that it speaks of Abraham foreseeing. The scriptures, as given in the Old Testament, point ahead to a time in the future mainly to the coming of the Gentile nations. But in what sense was the gospel preached to Abraham? Was this a foretaste of the gospel era proclaimed to him? That may be the case, yet the phrase could just as naturally indicate that God proclaimed the gospel to Abraham in advance: that in the future, blessing would extend not only to his physical descendants but also to those beyond his lineage, the nations themselves. It was God’s intention all along to bring in the Gentiles into the fold. This quotation from the Old Testament scriptures is from Gensis 12:3 which we quoted above but, as Douglas Moo points out: But it is perhaps more likely that he conflates Gen. 12:3 with other roughly parallel promises in Genesis that refer to “all the nations”.[4]
Those of Faith
In verse 9, Paul again associates faith with blessing. Although his focus is on the Gentiles, the truth he states is broad enough to include the Jews as well. Anyone who is to receive the blessing of Abraham the believer must do so by faith. If one acts like Abraham by trusting in God’s promises, then one becomes a child of Abraham. In this New Covenant era however, Paul is referring to faith in Jesus Christ (v.14).
Exhortation
A genuine, saving faith is an Abrahamic faith—a faith that rests entirely on God’s provision of salvation and, as its natural outflow, produces a heart that desires to obey Him. True faith does not remain idle. It expresses itself in a transformed life, just as Paul reminds us that believers are “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). These works do not create faith, nor do they complete salvation; rather, they are the living evidence that faith is real and active.
Because of this, it is vital for every Christian to pause and reflect on the manner in which they are walking. How did we begin this journey with Christ, and by what power are we continuing it? Are we living by the simple trust that first brought us to the Savior, or have we slipped into a pattern of legalistic striving? Many believers, after their conversion, subtly shift their focus from Christ’s finished work to their own efforts to please God. What begins as gratitude can quietly become performance. This inevitably leads to discouragement, anxiety, and a sense of spiritual inadequacy.
When opposition or hardship arises, the temptation grows even stronger. Instead of leaning into the strength of the Spirit, we often respond with too much of ourselves—our own wisdom, our own resolve, our own strength—and not enough dependence on God. Paul’s message in Galatians confronts this drift head‑on. The Christian life that begins by faith must continue by faith. The same grace that saved us is the grace that sustains us, empowers us, and carries us forward in obedience.
[1] Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Joseph H. Thayer, Hendrickson Publishers, 2003, Page 98
[2] Also see Romans 8:4-13; Philippians 3:3 etc.
[3] Also see Romans 4:3
[4] Galatians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Douglas Moo, Baker Academics, 2013, Page 199 – According to Moo, these would include Genesis 18:18; 22:18; 26:4