Galatians 3:6-9

By Faith!

⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For context, the previous passage in Galatians 3:1-5 was Paul’s explanation that the faith that saved us by giving us the Spirit, is the same faith that works to perfect us by the Spirit. Faith is faith and not a reliance on the works of the law. Both are a gift from God. At the conclusion of Paul’s explanation that faith is of Christ, he gives us an example from Scripture of faith. Abraham “believed God!” Oh, how perfect and simple this statement is! And if we were to witness to an unchurched person on how to be saved, this is what we should say, “For whosoever believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Romans 10:9-10 says, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”

When we believe in Christ, like Abraham who believed what God said, it is accounted to us as righteousness. This is huge. We as sinners, know that we are not righteousness. The law of God came to us to make us aware of our sins and our need to have Jesus. Jesus is the perfect, sinless man and Son of God, who gave His life in payment for our sins. When we believe, is it accounted to us as righteousness? Well, the answer is, by imputation, our sins were placed on Christ; and His righteousness was imputed, or rather, placed on us. But one may also ask, did this understanding of Jesus and our belief in Him come from within us? The answer is yes and no! Yes, the gospel came to us and we believe. But as we study Scripture, we come to understand that sinners are dead in their trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1-3). And being dead, a dead man has no volition of his own. Nevertheless, the goodness of the Gospel says in Ephesians 4:4-9,

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Therefore, those who come to faith in Christ, are the true heirs of Abraham because Abraham himself also received the gospel of Christ. Paul uses Romans 3:27-4:25 to explain how Abraham became a man of faith and how he became the father of all who has faith. But here in Galatians 3:6-9, the Apostle Paul gives us a great summary of how those of us who received this free gift of faith from Christ, are truly blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Hebrews 11:8-12 and 11:17-22). Galatians 3:9 says, “So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

There are many doctrinal ramifications of this passage of Scripture that could be added. For example, the Puritan theology about the nature of the church and the Jewish nation. Nevertheless, this doctrine will be addressed later when a definite Scriptural passage addresses it in our study. Until then, we rejoice with Abraham, who saw the promise yet he did not fully obtain it. We in Christ have the promise. We are the church and God himself, the Holy Spirit, indwells within each and every believer. We are the temple of God. In all things, may Jesus Christ be praised, to the glory of God!

><> ><> PRAYER <>< <><

Our Father, I rejoice that my name is written in the Book of Life. I rejoice that You, in your infinite mercy and love, have given me this free gift of faith. I thank You and worship you in spirit and truth. I pray that You strengthen and lead me to bless others with Your gospel message in Christ. I pray, especially for my children. Open their hearts and give them this free salvation by faith. Grant them faith and unbind them from the chains of the enemy who has blinded their eyes to the truth in Christ. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!

><> ><> CHRISTIAN HYMN <>< <><

Open My Eyes That I May See by Clara H. Scot in 1893