Galatians 3

International Standard Version

Believers are Approved by God

3 You foolish Galatians! Who put you under a spell? Was not Jesus the Messiah^[a] clearly portrayed before your very eyes as having been crucified? ² I want to learn only one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by doing^[b] the actions of the Law or by believing what you heard?^{[c] 3} Are you so foolish? Having started out with the Spirit, are you now ending up with the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so much for nothing? (If it really was for nothing!) ⁵ Does God^[d] supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do the actions^[e] of the Law or because you believe what you heard?^{[f] 6} In the same way, Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[g]

⁷ You see, then, that those who have faith are Abraham’s real descendants. ⁸ Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles^[h] by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, “Through you all nations^[i] will be blessed.”^{[j] 9} Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed.

No One is Justified by the Law

¹⁰ Certainly all who depend on the actions of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the Book of the Law!”^{[k] 11} Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the Law, because “The righteous will live by faith.”^{[l] 12} But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, “The person who keeps the commandments^[m] will have life in them.”^{[n] 13} The Messiah^[o] redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!”^{[p] 14} This happened^[q] in order that the blessing promised to^[r] Abraham would come to the gentiles through the Messiah^[s] Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit^[t] through faith.

¹⁵ Brothers, let me use an example from everyday life.^[u] Once an agreement^[v] has been ratified, no one can cancel it or add conditions to it. ¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn’t say “descendants,” referring to many, but “your descendant,”^[w] referring to one person, who is the Messiah.^{[x] 17} This is what I mean: The Law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes about through the Law, it no longer comes about through the promise. But it was through a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham.

The Purpose of the Law

¹⁹ Why, then, was the Law added?^[y] Because of transgressions, until the descendant^[z] came to whom the promise pertained. It was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. ²⁰ Now a mediator involves more than one party, but God is one. ²¹ So is the Law in conflict with the promises of God? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could give us life, then certainly righteousness would come through the Law. ²² But the Scripture has captured everything by means of sin’s net, so that what was promised by the faithfulness of^[aa] the Messiah^[ab] might be granted to those who believe. ²³ Now before faith came about, we were held in custody and confined under the Law in preparation for the faith that was to be revealed. ²⁴ And so the Law was our guardian until the Messiah^[ac] came, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come about, we are no longer under a guardian.

You are God’s Children

²⁶ For all of you are God’s children through faith in the Messiah^[ad] Jesus. ²⁷ Indeed, all of you who were baptized into the Messiah^[ae] have clothed yourselves with the Messiah.^{[af] 28} Because all of you are one in the Messiah^[ag] Jesus, a person is no longer a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a male or a female. ²⁹ And if you belong to the Messiah,^[ah] then you are Abraham’s descendants indeed, and heirs according to the promise.