The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians

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(James 2:14–26)

You fellow believers there in Galatia are very foolish! Someone must have bewitched you with their evil eye! I told you exactly how they had crucified Jesus Christ, did I not?

So I want you to tell me only one thing: When the Holy Spirit came to you, did he come because you were obeying the law of Moses? Or did the Spirit come to you because you had heard the good news and trusted in Messiah? Certainly this is what happened.

You are very foolish! You first became Messianics because God’s Spirit enabled you. But now you think you will continue until you die by trying as hard as possible to obey the law.

All the difficult things you have experienced after you believed in Messiah would have been of no value at all if you had not been trusting in him.

When God now generously gives to you his Spirit and performs mighty deeds among you, do you think that it is because you obey God’s law? Surely you know it is because when you heard the good news about Messiah, you trusted in him!

What you have experienced is just as Moses had written in the scriptures about Abraham. He wrote that Abraham trusted God, and as a result God declared Abraham good in his sight.

You should realize, therefore, that it is those who trust in Messiah to save them whom God has made into descendants of Abraham.

Even before God began to make non-Jews good in his sight when they trusted in him, men wrote in the scriptures that he would do this. God announced this good news to Abraham, as we read in the scriptures, “Because of what you have done, I will bless all the people groups in the world.”

So, we know by this that it is all those who trust in Messiah whom God blesses along with Abraham, who also trusted in God.

Christ Has Redeemed Us

God curses all those who think they can please God by obeying his law. It is just as you can read in the scriptures, “God will eternally punish everyone who does not continuously and completely obey all the laws that Moses wrote in the book of the law.”

But God has said that if he declares any people good in his sight, it will not be because they obeyed his law. You can read in the scriptures, “Every person whom God declares to be good will live because he trusts God.”

Whoever tries to obey the law is not trusting in Messiah, “Whoever starts to do the things in the law must obey them all.”

Messiah stopped God from having to curse us as they wrote in the law he must. This happened when God cursed Messiah in our place. You can read in the scripture, “God curses everyone whom they hang on a tree.”

God cursed Messiah in order to bless the non-Jews who believe in Messiah just as he blessed Abraham. And he blessed the non-Jews so that we might receive the Spirit, whom he promised to all who trust in Messiah.

The Purpose of the Law

(Romans 7:1–6)

My fellow believers, God’s promise is like a contract between two people. After they sign it, no one can cancel it, nor can they add anything to it.

God promised to bless Abraham and his special descendant. The scriptures do not say, “your descendants,” that is, many people, but instead “your descendant,” meaning just one person, Messiah.

This is what I am saying. God established an agreement with Abraham that the law which he gave to Moses 430 years later could not cancel.

This is because if what God is giving to us forever comes because we keep his law, then he would not be giving it because he had promised to do so. In reality, however, God gave Abraham this gift because he had freely promised to give it.

So why did God later give his law to us? God gave his law to teach us that we all deliberately break it. And looking forward, God gave the law for the time when a descendent of Abraham would come. That descendent is the one who receives the promise that was made before to Abraham. The angels protected and applied the law by the authority of the one who would stand between God and people.

Now, when one person speaks directly with another, there is no mediator. And God himself made his promises directly to Abraham.

So do the words of the law speak against what God promises? Certainly not. If we could obey the law and then live forever with God, then he certainly would have regarded us as good in his sight.

But that was impossible. Instead, because we sin, the law in the scriptures controls us, and all things, just as if we were in prison. So when God promised to free us from that prison, he was speaking about anyone who believes in Jesus Christ.

Before God revealed the good news about how people should trust in Messiah, his law was like a soldier who kept us in prison, unable to move about.

Like a father protects his small child by telling a slave to take care of him, God was supervising us by his law until Messiah came. He did this so that he might now declare us good in his sight, if we trust in Messiah.

But now that we can trust in Messiah, we no longer need God’s law to supervise us.

Sons through Faith in Christ

I say this because you are all God’s children because you have trusted in Messiah Jesus.

All of you who trust in Messiah and were baptized so that you are joined to him, have taken on the characteristics of Messiah’s life.

If you are believers, it does not matter to God if you are Jews or non-Jews, slaves or free persons, males or females, because all of you are together joined to Messiah Jesus.

Furthermore, since you belong to Messiah, he makes you into descendants of Abraham, and you will receive everything that God has promised him and us.

(James 2:14–26)

Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed among you as crucified?

I just want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith?

Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now completed in the flesh?

Did you suffer so many things in vain, if it is indeed in vain?

He therefore who supplies the Spirit to you and does miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith?

Even so, Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.”(a)

Know therefore that those who are of faith are children of Abraham.

The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.”(b)

So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.

Christ Has Redeemed Us

For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.”(c)

Now that no man is justified by the law before God is evident, for, “The righteous will live by faith.”(d)

The law is not of faith, but, “The man who does them will live by them.”(e)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,”(f)

that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Purpose of the Law

(Romans 7:1–6)

Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void or adds to it.

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring.(g) He doesn’t say, “To descendants (h)”, as of many, but as of one, “To your offspring”,(i) which is Christ.

Now I say this: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God in Christ, the law, which came four hundred thirty years after, does not annul, so as to make the promise of no effect.

For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by promise.

Then why is there the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise has been made. It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.

Now a mediator is not between one, but God is one.

Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could make alive, most certainly righteousness would have been of the law.

But the Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, confined for the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

So that the law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Sons through Faith in Christ

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

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise.

Fußnoten

(a)3:6 ℘ Genesis 15:6

(b)3:8 ℘ Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18

(d)3:11 ℘ Habakkuk 2:4

(e)3:12 ℘ Leviticus 18:5

(f)3:13 ℘ Deuteronomy 21:23

(g)3:16 or, seed

(h)3:16 or, seeds

(i)3:16 ℘ Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 24:7