Galatians 3:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

NIV: He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

NASB: in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

CSB: The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.

NLT: Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

KJV: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

NKJV: that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Paul concludes the breathtaking truth he began in the previous verse. He has shown that to rely on the law to save us, to make us right before God, is to live under a curse (Galatians 3:10–13). To break any part of the law results in being cursed by God, and separated from Him. In that way, the law reveals our sin but does not lead to our salvation. And it was never intended to lead to salvation. Rather, God had an ultimate solution in mind, when the time was right.

At that critical moment, Christ stepped in. He brought us out of this curse we were under by simple substitution. He became the curse Himself. He paid our way to freedom at the price of His own sinless life and separation from God.

Why did Jesus do this? What did He gain? Paul answers in this verse. First, His death in our place is how Gentiles (non-Jewish people) can be included in the family of God. The patriarch becomes "Father Abraham" to all who trust in Christ, descended by birth or not. Even Gentiles receive the blessings promised to Abraham's family.

Second, being freed from the curse revealed by the law allows all who trust in Christ's death in their place, for their sin, to receive the Holy Spirit. Paul calls Him the "promised Spirit," possibly referring to Jesus' promise in Acts 1:8.

Once more, Paul emphasizes that this is possible only "by faith." Gentiles cannot become Abraham's children or receive God's Spirit by following the works of the law. We had to be freed from the curse of the law in order for this to become possible in the first place.

Galatians 3:10–14 describes Paul's argument that blessing does not come by following the law of Moses. In fact, the rules described in the law bring the threat of God's curse if anyone fails to keep them in any way. Since all fail to keep it perfectly, no one can be justified—made right before God—by the law. Paul quotes three Old Testament Scriptures to show this is true, and that Christ took this curse on Himself when He died for our sin on the cross. That's how the blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles who believe in Christ by faith.

Paul indicates the Galatian Christians are foolish for believing they need to follow the law of Moses to be right with God. He offers three specific arguments to support this. First, they received God's Spirit in a powerful way after believing in Jesus, but before doing any works of the law. Second, Scripture itself shows God's blessing coming by faith, and His curse coming by the law. Christ paid the price of that curse on the cross. Third, God's covenant with Abraham is like a legal document, and it cannot be revoked.

In Galatians chapter 2, Paul declared that we can only be justified—''made right with God''—by faith in Christ and not by following the law of Moses. In chapter 3, Paul offers three arguments for why that is true. He argues from the Galatians own experience, from the Scriptures themselves, and from the legal standpoint of a covenant contract. Finally, Paul answers what the law is for if it cannot save us from our sin. In part, it reveals our sinfulness and convinces us of our need to be saved by faith in Christ. The following chapter will expand on what it means to be an ''heir,'' spiritually.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.