June 21
“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain – if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?” Galatians 3:1-5.
The apostle Paul begins this section of a doctrinal discussion first with an alarming statement – “O foolish Galatians!” – and then he follows with a series of questions to get the Galatians to do some serious spiritual thinking!
“O foolish Galatians!” It was foolish or thoughtless on their part. They were not thinking about what was happening in the congregations. They had been taught the truth of the Gospel – namely, that they were saved by God’s grace for Christ’s sake through faith. Paul is asking, “What has happened to you?” “Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?” The truth of the Gospel had been clearly declared to them through the preaching of the apostle. They had come to faith in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and the Savior from sin, death, and the devil. Paul asks, “Who has bewitched you?” He is not talking about witchcraft, but he is asking, “Have you fallen for the lies of the devil?” – lies which were being told by the false teachers who had crept into their midst.
He seeks to arouse them from spiritual slumber by asking, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?” Seriously ask yourselves, “Did you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit by following the Ten Commandments, or did you receive the gift of the Spirit by believing in Christ crucified?” Were they spiritually so foolish – that is, without true knowledge of what is taught in the Gospel?
“Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” The Holy Spirit had called them into faith by the Gospel, as He brings all Christians to faith. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel,” 1 Corinthians 4:15. Through the message of the Gospel, we are brought to believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit,” 1 Corinthians 12:3.
Paul asked why they had suffered so many things for the sake of the Gospel if they were beginning to doubt the blessings that come to believers through the Gospel. Finally, the miracles that had been performed by the power of God through the apostle, including the miracle of bringing people to faith, were not things that had been accomplished by the Law, but rather by the grace of God through the power of the Gospel.
What is the message for us? Let us be spiritually wide awake. Let us not be spiritually foolish – rather, let us do some serious spiritual thinking on the basis of the revealed Word of God in Holy Scripture, which is the only source for all our Christian teaching and the foundation for our Christian faith in Christ Jesus!
We have a sure prophetic Word, By inspiration of the Lord;
And tho’ assailed on ev’ry hand, Jehovah’s Word shall ever stand.
Abiding, steadfast, firm and sure, The teachings of the Word endure.
Blest he who trusts this steadfast Word; His anchor holds in Christ, the Lord. Amen.