Galatians 3:1-14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
IV. Faith and Liberty
Chapter 3
Justification by Faith.[a] 1 O stupid[b] Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?(A) 2 I want to learn only this from you:(B) did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?[c] 3 Are you so stupid?(C) After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?[d] 4 Did you experience so many things[e] in vain?—if indeed it was in vain. 5 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?(D) 6 Thus Abraham “believed God,(E) and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[f]
7 [g]Realize then that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham.(F) 8 Scripture, 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.”(G) 9 Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith.(H) 10 [h]For 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.”(I) 11 And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for “the one who is righteous by faith will live.”(J) 12 But the law does not depend on faith; rather, “the one who does these things will live by them.”(K) 13 Christ 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,”(L) 14 that 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.(M)
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- 3:1–14 Paul’s contention that justification comes not through the law or the works of the law but by faith in Christ and in his death (Gal 2:16, 21) is supported by appeals to Christian experience (Gal 3:1–5) and to scripture (Gal 3:6–14). The gift of God’s Spirit to the Galatians came from the gospel received in faith, not from doing what the law enjoins. The story of Abraham shows that faith in God brings righteousness (Gal 3:6; Gn 15:6). The promise to Abraham (Gal 3:8; Gn 12:3) extends to the Gentiles (Gal 3:14).
- 3:1 Stupid: not just senseless, for they were in danger of deserting their salvation.
- 3:2 Faith in what you heard: Paul’s message received with faith. The Greek can also mean “the proclamation of the faith” or “a hearing that comes from faith.”
- 3:3 On the contrast of Spirit and flesh, cf. Rom 8:1–11. Having received the Spirit, they need not be circumcised now.
- 3:4 Experience so many things: probably the mighty deeds of Gal 1:5 but possibly the experience of sufferings.
- 3:6 Abraham…righteousness: see Gn 15:6; Rom 4:3. The Galatians like Abraham heard with faith and experienced justification. This first argument forms the basis for the further scriptural evidence that follows.
- 3:7–9 Faith is what matters, for Abraham and the children of Abraham, in contrast to the claims of the opponents that circumcision and observance of the law are needed to bring the promised blessing of Gn 12:3; cf. Gn 18:18; Sir 44:21; Acts 3:25.
- 3:10–14 Those who depend not on promise and faith but on works of the law are under a curse because they do not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law (Gal 3:10; Dt 27:26) in order to gain life (Gal 3:12; Lv 18:5; cf. Rom 10:5). But scripture teaches that no one is justified before God by the law (Gal 3:11; Hb 2:4, adapted from the Greek version of Habakkuk; cf. Rom 1:17; Hb 10:38). Salvation, then, depends on faith in Christ who died on the cross (Gal 3:13), taking upon himself a curse found in Dt 21:23 (about executed criminals hanged in public view), to free us from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13). That the Gentile Galatians have received the promised Spirit (Gal 3:14) by faith and in no other way returns the argument to the experience cited in Gal 3:1–5.
Romans 1:2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures,(A)
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Romans 4:3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
3 (A)For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]
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- 4:3 Jas 2:24 appears to conflict with Paul’s statement. However, James combats the error of extremists who used the doctrine of justification through faith as a screen for moral self-determination. Paul discusses the subject of holiness in greater detail than does James and beginning with Rom 6 shows how justification through faith introduces one to the gift of a new life in Christ through the power of the holy Spirit.
Genesis 15:6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 (A)Abram put his faith in the Lord, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness.[a]
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- 15:6 Abraham’s act of faith in God’s promises was regarded as an act of righteousness, i.e., as fully expressive of his relationship with God. St. Paul (Rom 4:1–25; Gal 3:6–9) makes Abraham’s faith a model for Christians.
Genesis 12:1-3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 12
Abram’s Call and Migration. 1 The Lord said to Abram: Go forth[a] from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.(A) 2 [b]I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.(B) 3 (C)I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you.[c]
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- 12:1–3 Go forth…find blessing in you: the syntax of the Hebrew suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham are contingent on his going to Canaan.
- 12:2 The call of Abraham begins a new history of blessing (18:18; 22:15–18), which is passed on in each instance to the chosen successor (26:2–4; 28:14). This call evokes the last story in the primeval history (11:1–9) by reversing its themes: Abraham goes forth rather than settle down; it is God rather than Abraham who will make a name for him; the families of the earth will find blessing in him.
- 12:3 Will find blessing in you: the Hebrew conjugation of the verb here and in 18:18 and 28:14 can be either reflexive (“shall bless themselves by you” = people will invoke Abraham as an example of someone blessed by God) or passive (“by you all the families of earth will be blessed” = the religious privileges of Abraham and his descendants ultimately will be extended to the nations). In 22:18 and 26:4, another conjugation of the same verb is used in a similar context that is undoubtedly reflexive (“bless themselves”). Many scholars suggest that the two passages in which the sense is clear should determine the interpretation of the three ambiguous passages: the privileged blessing enjoyed by Abraham and his descendants will awaken in all peoples the desire to enjoy those same blessings. Since the term is understood in a passive sense in the New Testament (Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8), it is rendered here by a neutral expression that admits of both meanings.
Leviticus 17:11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 since the life of the flesh is in the blood,(A) and I have given it to you to make atonement[a] on the altar for yourselves, because it is the blood as life that makes atonement.
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2 Corinthians 5:21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
21 [a]For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,(A) so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
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- 5:21 This is a statement of God’s purpose, expressed paradoxically in terms of sharing and exchange of attributes. As Christ became our righteousness (1 Cor 1:30), we become God’s righteousness (cf. 2 Cor 5:14–15).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.