Galatians
Page 12
Part 2
Arguments from Christian Experience and from Scripture
Galatians 3:1–5:12
Three Quick Arguments for Faith over Works of the Law
Galatians 3:1–18
After a sharp conclusion to the first part of the letter (2:21), Paul begins the second part with words that sting: “O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (3:1). He follows up with a series of †rhetorical questions about his readers’ Christian experience to support his insistent statement about †justification in 2:16. The Galatians did not receive the Spirit as a consequence of doing the works required by the †law, but as a consequence of believing in the †gospel when it was preached to them (3:2–5). Finally, Paul confirms their experience with a scriptural argument based on the example of Abraham (3:6–14) and the promises made to him long before the law was given (3:15–18).
An Argument from Christian Experience (3:1–6)
1O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard? 3Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? 4Did you experience so many things in vain?—if indeed it was in vain. 5Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard? 6Thus Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
OT: Gen 15:6
NT: Rom 10:17; 1 Cor 1:23; 12:10
The second part of the letter begins with a kind of volcanic eruption. As he was explaining that no one is †justified by works of the †law in 2:15–21, Paul was thinking of the Galatians who were foolishly taking the opposite position and rejecting the generous gift of God, thus making Christ’s death futile (see 2:21). In 3:1 Paul explodes. He vehemently reproves the Galatians and quickly poses an urgent series of five †rhetorical questions.
In verse 6 Paul confirms the implicit answer to his rhetorical questions, in effect supplying the response the Galatians ought to give. The Galatians should respond, “We received the gifts of God not by practicing the law—we did not even know the law—but by receiving the proclamation of the gospel with faith.” Paul notes that such a spiritual experience corresponds to what Scripture says about the foundation of Abraham’s relationship with God: “Abram put his faith in the LORD, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness” (Gen 15:6). The testimony of Scripture verifies the pattern of the Galatians’ spiritual experience.
[3:1]
Paul’s words here are harsh. Instead of saying “brothers and sisters” or “beloved ones,” Paul uses their regional name, Galatians, and precedes it with the pejorative adjective stupid or foolish, the opposite of wise.1 The perspective is identical to that of the reproof at the beginning of the letter (1:6), and the reasons are the same. What Paul expressed there with the verb “amazed” he now expresses with a question that emphasizes the irrationality of the Galatians’ position: Who has bewitched you? What sorcerer has befuddled your minds? The Galatians’ attitude is not at all in line with the †gospel proclamation they received, which highlighted the love of Christ manifested by his passion and death “for our sins” (1:4; 2:21). Paul’s preaching, in fact, was wholly concentrated on “Christ crucified” (see 1 Cor 1:23). His language is literally graphic: Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed (Greek prographō) as crucified before their eyes, as if to say, “We painted a picture for you of Jesus’ passion and death.” Contemplating Christ on the cross should have guarded the Galatians from wandering off the right path and kept them focused on what it is that brought them salvation.
[3:2]
With a kind of †rhetorical flourish, Paul presents himself as an inquirer who wants to learn something from them, something so important that it should be sufficient to resolve the whole issue: Did you receive the Spirit from works of the law . . . ? The Galatians surely knew the answer, because Paul refers to an experience they had at the beginning of their Christian life. Something happened that had made it clear that they had received the Spirit, although Paul does not specify how that was manifested. In Gal 4:6 he mentions a form of charismatic prayer, and it is likely that the Galatians experienced speaking in tongues and prophecy from the beginning of their lives as Christians.2 In 5:22–23 Paul lists the “fruit of the Spirit,” new qualities that appear in the lives of those who allow themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace,” and so on. However the Spirit manifested his presence among the Galatians, it was something evident, a fact that no one contested.
The point needing clarification is something else. What did the Galatians have to do to receive the Spirit? Paul poses only two alternatives: “works of the law” or faith in what you heard. We see here again the two alternatives presented by Gal 2:16 concerning the basis of †justification.
The Galatians have no choice but to respond to the questions Paul asks by saying, “We received the Spirit by faith in what we heard and not by works of the law.” As pagans they did not even know the †law of Moses, and the requirement of keeping that law was not the message that Paul brought to them. Thus they had not fulfilled the works required by the law. They only needed to hear with †faith the proclamation of salvation through the crucified and risen Christ.
With his typical boldness Paul leads the Galatians to recognize that Christian life begins not with doing but with hearing and believing. Traditional ethical teaching says, “It is not enough to listen; conduct is what counts.” Jesus had reasserted this principle in the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount (Matt 7:24–27; see Luke 6:47–49). The Letter of James presents the same perspective (James 1:22–25). Paul himself speaks this way in Rom 2:13, and his exhortations are often along this line (Gal 6:3–4, 9–10; 2 Thess 3:6–13). Although generally valid, when it comes to entry into Christian life this traditional rule does not apply. At the beginning, the fundamental disposition necessary is a receptive one, to believe in the good news, to accept God’s gracious gift of justification in baptism. The indwelling Holy Spirit is a divine gift and not the result of any human work. Once the Holy Spirit has been received, then conduct based on faith and the power of the Spirit becomes possible (see Gal 5:6, 16, 25).
[3:3]
Paul denounces the contradictory position the Galatians manifest by their wanting to place the †law at the foundation of their lives. Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, whom they received by hearing with †faith, they should have followed through on a path that was consistent with that beginning, keeping their attention on Jesus crucified and risen, continuing to put faith in their union with Christ as the foundation of their right relationship with God. Instead they are trying to advance on a different basis, keeping the law of Moses, and therefore they are now ending with the flesh. By means of this powerful antithesis, Paul wants them to understand that people who put their trust in the works of the law are trusting in their own strength, which is only human and †fleshly and bound to fail (Jer 17:5–6). Furthermore, several precepts of the law that the †Judaizers are urging on them are fleshly in another sense—namely, they pertain only to the body: circumcision (see Gen 17:10–13; Lev 12:3; Gal 5:2–6) and prohibitions of various foods. These are likely the specific observances Paul has in mind, because they erect a barrier between Jewish and †Gentile Christians.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND
What Does Paul Mean by “Faith”?
When Paul speaks of the †faith that †justifies (Gal 2:16) and of the “faith in what you heard” that resulted in the Galatian Christians receiving the Holy Spirit (3:2, 5), he is not describing mere mental assent to doctrine (see commentary on 2:20). Instead he is referring to a †grace-enabled response to preaching, an inspired conviction that Jesus really is the Son of God who died for our sins, rose from the dead, and is coming again to give us eternal life in the kingdom of God. It is characterized by persona
l trust in God and in Jesus; a confidence in all that they have promised, including the promise of the Holy Spirit; and a willing surrender to all that God may ask, what Paul elsewhere calls “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5; 16:26).
When Paul speaks of Abraham as our father in faith and cites Gen 15:6 (in this chapter and in Rom 4), he obviously cannot mean Christian faith, since Christ had not yet come. Instead, Abraham believed in the promise that God spoke to him that, despite his and Sarah’s advanced years, she would bear him a son whose offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Accepting this word from God, like our acceptance of the good news about Jesus, entailed Abraham believing something humanly impossible that he could not see but believed anyway, because he trusted the truthfulness of the Person who promised it.
The word “faith”a belongs to the vocabulary of personal relationship. The word is used to refer both to the trust or confidence that someone places in another person and to the faithfulness or trustworthiness of that other person. A sound relationship is characterized by faith and faithfulness on the part of both parties. Faith in God or in Jesus first means placing our trust in him, believing his promises in Scripture and in the †gospel, and entrusting our lives to him. At the same time, Christian faith entails faithfulness to God—Father, Son, and Spirit—that is expressed in loyalty and obedience (see the sidebar, “‘Faith in Christ’ or ‘the Faithfulness of Christ’?,” p. 86).
a. Greek pistis.
[3:4]
Paul asks, Did you experience so many things in vain? The spiritual experience of the Galatians had been very rich. The verb translated “experience” can refer to every kind of experience, including those that are painful.3 In 1 Thessalonians Paul speaks of the Thessalonians “receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the holy Spirit” (1 Thess 1:6). It is likely the Galatians had similar experiences—which would count for nothing on the path they are choosing, because relying on the works of the †law creates an obstacle to the action of the Holy Spirit (Gal 2:21; 3:3). The next phrase is obscure: if indeed it was in vain! This NABRE translation expresses Paul’s hope that the Galatians will not continue on that misguided path and their Christian life can be salvaged.4
[3:5]
Then Paul says, Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard? Here Paul sums up the argument in verses 2–4 but introduces a new element. Paul speaks not only of the initial gift of the Spirit received in the past but also of the Galatians’ continuing relationship with God, who generously supplies the Spirit and works mighty signs and wonders in the community of believers. Paul speaks often of miracles in the life of the Church (Rom 15:19; 1 Cor 12:10, 28, 29); here he is so confident of his readers’ experience of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s miraculous power that he uses this remarkable fact to make the point that this activity of the Spirit stems from †faith in the †gospel rather than observance of the †law of Moses.
[3:6]
Although, strictly speaking, verse 6 begins a new scriptural argument (3:6–14) for faith as the basis of justification, it follows closely what has just been said about the gift of the Spirit.
Paul quotes Gen 15:6 (Thus Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”) to confirm from Scripture what he has just shown the Galatians from their experience—namely, that the basis of Christian life is hearing with †faith rather than observing the †law. According to Gen 15, God did not command Abraham anything in that encounter; rather, God made him a promise of descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky, something that would have been hard for an elderly, childless man to believe! It was an unconditional promise: Abraham was not given any law to keep or task to accomplish. The only question was whether he would have faith in God’s word, and Abraham believed God. Similarly for the Galatians, at the time of their conversion all they needed to do was to believe the word of God that was spoken to them, and that is what they did.
What is the connection between “righteousness” in Gen 15:6 and †justification for a Christian? First, as we mentioned earlier, the terms used in the Greek are forms of the same word: to be justified (dikaiomai) is to be judged or made righteous (dikaios; see the sidebar, “What Does It Mean to Be Justified?,” pp. 82–83). But there is more. In Scripture “righteousness” is more than conformity to a standard of conduct: it describes a relationship between persons. One who is righteous before God is one whose attitude and actions make a harmonious relationship with God possible. Thus Gen 15:6 means that Abraham’s faith placed him in harmony with God. Although Paul greatly deepens the biblical teaching on the significance of faith, his teaching is firmly rooted in the Old Testament.5
As a consequence of faith, Abraham was accounted righteous, and as a consequence of faith, the Galatians received the Spirit. This raises a question. Is there a connection between these two gifts, justification and the Spirit? The issue is so clear to Paul that he does not feel the need to make it explicit. The Holy Spirit is received in the same way that righteousness was credited to Abraham because justification (being made righteous) and the gift of the Spirit are intrinsically linked. To demonstrate that “a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith” (Gal 2:16), Paul shows that the gift of the Spirit is received by hearing with faith and not by works of the law. Then to confirm this he has recourse to a text that does not mention the Holy Spirit but speaks of “righteousness” (Gen 15:6). In this way Paul reveals his conviction that it is the Holy Spirit who justifies believers (made explicit in 1 Cor 6:11).6 Justification is not a merely judicial act by God; it entails the impartation of spiritual power that enables a person to live a new way of life that is pleasing to God. The external manifestation of the Holy Spirit through visible gifts is evidence of the Spirit entering into believers and justifying them.
Reflection and Application (3:2–5)
Paul’s argument in Gal 3:2–5 raises questions about the experience of the Holy Spirit in the Church today. Paul takes for granted that the Galatian Christians were aware of having powerfully experienced the Spirit at the time of their conversion. If Paul were to ask the members of your parish, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” (3:5 RSV), would anyone understand his question? Or would people respond, “What miracles?” or “What do you mean, ‘supplies the Spirit’?”
Because most Catholics were baptized as infants and confirmed while still very young, and because few come to the sacraments of initiation seeking or expecting to experience the Holy Spirit, many have not experienced receiving the Spirit as a life-changing event. Although they received the grace of the Holy Spirit through baptism and confirmation, many did not experience the full fruitfulness of the sacraments at the time because the dispositions of faith, repentance, understanding, and desire were lacking (see Catechism 1131).7 For some, the dispositions conducive to the full fruitfulness of the sacraments come later, perhaps through a movement in the Church or through participation in a vital parish.
Recent popes have encouraged Catholics to seek and cultivate the work of the Spirit in their lives, both for the sake of their own relationship with God and for the sake of the Church’s mission. On the eve of Pentecost 1998, St. John Paul II exhorted the faithful,
Today, I would like to cry out to all of you gathered here in St. Peter’s Square and to all Christians: Open yourselves docilely to the gifts of the Spirit! Accept gratefully and obediently the charisms which the Spirit never ceases to bestow on us! Do not forget that every charism is given for the common good, that is, for the benefit of the whole Church.8
On Pentecost 2008, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged Christians, “Let us rediscover, dear brothers and sisters, the beauty of being baptized in the Holy Spirit; let us recover awareness of our Baptism and our Confirmation, ever timely sources of grace.”9 In 2014, Pope Francis spoke to almost fifty-three thousan
d people gathered in the Olympic stadium in Rome for the national conference of the Italian Renewal in the Spirit movement: “You . . . have received a great gift of the Lord. You were born of the will of the Spirit as ‘a current of grace in the Church and for the Church.’ . . . I expect from you that you share with all, in the Church, the grace of Baptism in the Holy Spirit.”10
The good news is that God is still eager to supply his Spirit to his people and to work miracles among us. Jesus’ words in Luke 11:9–13 explain how and provide a promise on which to base expectant faith: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. . . . If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?”11
Scriptural Argument: The Faith of Abraham and Blessing for the Gentiles (3:7–14)
7Realize then that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham. 8Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, “Through you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith. 10For all who depend on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law.” 11And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for “the one who is righteous by faith will live.” 12But the law does not depend on faith; rather, “the one who does these things will live by them.” 13Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,” 14that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.