Therefore, He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you, all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham
Why does Paul use the word “therefore?” Because of the previous verses we have studied, verses 1-4. Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?” This is the critical question folks; law versus the hearing of faith. It is the hearing of faith and the response of obedience that releases the Spirit’s presence into action! It is the hearing of faith that creates the atmosphere for miracles. I shared last week that it is the story of my life and the multitudes of others as well. Works of the Law, religious practices do not release the “supplies of the Spirit” or “the working of miracles among you.” I would dare say that “religious focus” is the primary reason for little to none of the “power of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 6 continues by saying, “just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” It is important to go back and study the life of Abraham. I don’t just mean to read about his life, but study and pray over what you read and observe. Do this so that you might receive the lessons of faith learned by Abraham. Note in Genesis 22 that the Lord responds to Abraham’s “ACT OF FAITH.” As Abraham was about to sacrifice the son of promise, he understood by faith that “The-Lord-Will-Provide,” and that became the name of the place, YHWH Yireh or in English, “Jehovah Jira,” the Lord is my provider.
In Genesis 22:17-18, we have both the Old and the New Testament captured in the verses. Gen 22:17-19
“Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your Seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (NKJV). Verse 17 says that his decedents would possess the gate of their enemies. This is the story of the Old Testament when that Abraham’s descendants believed by obedience to the word of Jehovah, they defeated their enemies. Verse 18 narrows the promise down to the “SEED.” Not just descendants. Many are confused about this even today. The ultimate promise was not to the descendants but to the Seed, singular.
Faith is a “lifestyle,” not just a mental ascent! In the New Testament, there was the requirement from the descendants of Abraham to repent, then to shift their identity from Moses to the Messiah, David’s Greater Son, and then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38). Those who obeyed became part of a “new creation” in the Spirit (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). The Old past away, behold everything has become new.
The Gospel was preached to Abraham before Christ was manifested. He exercised believing faith before it even happened. For Abraham, it happened because he believed God “who calls the things that are not as though they were.”
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20, KJV). If you didn’t know anything at all about the Patriarch’s life, this might be a statement to make you feel bad about your doubts and lack of faith at times. But the Bible tells us that in his flesh, Abraham did not stagger at the promise.
7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. Notice that Paul’s focus is not on (descendants), but sons! Many today think that God is reviving natural Israel. That is folly when understood here in Galatians by what Paul is saying to these Gentile believers. Both Jew and Gentile are required to believe as Abraham believed. We pray for the Jews that are yet unreached, but it is not about the law as a means of righteousness, nor is it about the modern-day descendants of Abraham. This is a critical point to understand and to apply. Jew or Gentile, the question is, are you a son of Abraham having Abraham type faith? “Believing God” so that it might be accounted to you for righteousness.
The blessing is in the Gospel Seed, Jesus, Son of Man, and Son of God. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you, all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
The blessing is in those of faith! Not just any faith, but the faith of believing Abraham. The three thousand souls that were saved on the Day of Pentecost became “sons of Abraham” through “repentance, baptism in Jesus name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Many more souls were added as Peter preached Christ in Acts 3. From there, Jerusalem began to be filled with true sons of Abraham.
Then in Acts 8 we see that the Samaritans became part and parcel of the plan of God as they had become sons of Abraham by believing faith from receiving the word of God that Phillip had preached. Later, when the apostles heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. “Who when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:14-16).
Verse 17 records, “Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” These are many of the same people that had heard of Jesus from the Samaritan women who had met the Lord at Jacobs well. She had gone back to Samaria and told all about her encounter with the Messiah. The town had come out to see for themselves what she had reported. Now in Acts 8, those who believed and were baptized received the “living water” which Jesus had promised.
The Spirit of the Lord continued to move until the Gentiles also became the “sons of Abraham through faith.” Gentiles, as we have seen in our study of Paul’s journey, were already believing and being converted. But in Acts 10 it becomes official through Peter’s vision and obedience by accepting Cornelius’ invitation to his home to proclaim the good news of the Gospel to his gentile family and servants. We read the story of how the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his entire household with evidence of their speaking in tongues. Peter turned to his Jewish companions and asked, “What hinders them from being baptized in water, seeing that they had received the Spirit just like the Jews had?
Many were now being added to Abraham’s family, including Samaritans and Gentiles and believing Jews. A redeemed Holy Nation was emerging. The true Israel of God was arising out of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the earth. Certainly, God’s kingdom was coming, and God’s will was being done through “believing people just like Abraham.” These are the sons and daughters born of the SEED of Abraham, “the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). And “born from Jerusalem above” (Galatians 3:26).
Next week we will pick up at verse 10 and learn about those who are of the works of the law are under the “curse.”