Galatians 3:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

NIV: So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,

NASB: For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

CSB: for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

NLT: For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

KJV: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

NKJV: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul concludes a thought begun in the previous verses. He has been showing that the law of Moses served a vital role in the life of Israel, but only for a temporary season. It was similar to a kind of tutor, or guardian, to the nation of Israel, steering them through the minefield of sin and its consequences without ever being able to free them from their imprisonment to sin (Galatians 3:19–25).

When Christ came, however, the guardian of the law was no longer needed. No matter what the Judaizers said to the Galatian Christians, it was not necessary for any of them to continue to follow the works of the law. True freedom from sin is now available to those who "by faith" receive the gift of Christ's death for their sin on the cross. In fact, being "in Christ" by faith causes believers to become children of God. Paul is making a huge statement here. He is writing to non-Jewish Christians and calling them children of God, another step up from his previous description of them as Abraham's children "by faith."

Paul's teaching was the Gentiles no longer needed to think of themselves as lesser members in the family of God. All who trust in Christ for salvation are full sons and daughters of God Almighty with all the rights and privileges that come with that.

Galatians 3:23–29 summarizes the idea that God never intended the law to be the final solution for the problem of sin. Instead, it was meant to ''guard'' mankind, until the arrival of Christ. This freedom from the captivity of the law also transcends all other barriers: race, gender, wealth, health, and culture are all irrelevant to our relationship with the Savior. Anyone who belongs to Christ, by faith, is promised to be an heir.

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.