Exegesis of Galatians 3
(Focus: The New Covenant vs. The Law)
1️⃣ Verses 1–5: Rebuke of Foolishness Paul begins sharply: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you…?” (Gal. 3:1 AMP). They started their journey in the Spirit but were now trying to be perfected by the works of the law.
👉 Exegesis: Paul calls legalism witchcraft because it manipulates believers away from grace.
👉 New Covenant Truth: Salvation begins in the Spirit and is sustained in the Spirit, never by fleshly efforts.
2️⃣ Verses 6–9: Abraham as Example of Faith Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Paul emphasizes that those who live by faith are true sons of Abraham. 📖 Gal. 3:7 (AMP) – “So understand that it is the people who live by faith [with confidence in the power and goodness of God] who are [the true] sons of Abraham.”
👉 Exegesis: The covenant promise was always about faith, not the Law. Abraham was declared righteous before the Law ever existed.
3️⃣ Verses 10–12: The Curse of the Law “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” The Law demands perfection — one failure makes you guilty of all. 📖 Gal. 3:11 (AMP) – “Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the Law, for ‘The righteous [the just, the upright] shall live by faith.’”
👉 Exegesis: The Law was not a ladder to climb to God; it was a mirror to expose man’s inability.
4️⃣ Verses 13–14: Christ Redeems Us “Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us…” (Gal. 3:13 AMP).
👉 Exegesis: Jesus didn’t just cancel the Law’s curse — He absorbed it, fulfilling it in Himself.
👉 New Covenant Truth: The blessing of Abraham (righteousness by faith + the promise of the Spirit) now comes to the Gentiles through Christ.
5️⃣ Verses 15–18: The Priority of the Promise Paul explains that God’s covenant promise to Abraham predates the Law by 430 years. The Law cannot annul the promise. 📖 Gal. 3:18 (AMP) – “For if the inheritance [of what was promised] is based on the Law, it is no longer based on a promise; however, God granted it to Abraham as a gift by virtue of His promise.”
👉 Exegesis: The promise (grace through faith) is permanent. The Law was temporary.
6️⃣ Verses 19–22: Purpose of the Law The Law was “added because of transgressions until the Seed (Christ) would come.” It served as a restrainer, not a savior.
👉 Exegesis: The Law was never designed to give life — it was to lock everyone under sin so that Christ could be revealed as the only way out.
7️⃣ Verses 23–25: The Law as a Tutor “The Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” (Gal. 3:24–25 AMP).
👉 Exegesis: The Law was like a schoolteacher — strict, disciplinary, temporary. Once Christ came, the tutor’s role ended.
👉 New Covenant Truth: To go back to the Law after Christ is like a grown man insisting on being babysat.
8️⃣ Verses 26–29: Sons and Heirs in Christ In Christ, we are all sons of God through faith. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female — all are one in Christ. 📖 Gal. 3:29 (AMP) – “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, and [spiritual] heirs according to [God’s] promise.”
👉 Exegesis: Identity is no longer based on ethnicity, gender, or law-keeping but solely on Christ.
👉 New Covenant Truth: We are heirs — not because of Law, but because of Promise.
⚡ Summary: Galatians 3
Truths The Law exposes sin, but only Christ saves. Abraham was justified by faith, showing faith is the foundation. The Law curses, but Christ redeems. The promise predates the Law and cannot be nullified by it. The Law’s role was temporary — Christ is permanent. The Spirit is the evidence of the New Covenant. Faith, not works, makes us children of God. In Christ, all barriers are broken. The inheritance is a gift, not a wage.
🔟 To mix law with grace is to insult the finished work of Christ.
👑 Kingdom Application
👉 The Law tried to make man righteous through human effort.
👉 The New Covenant makes us righteous through Christ’s finished work.
👉 The Law said: “Do and live.”
👉 Grace says: “Christ has done, now live.”
