I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
– Galatians 1:6 ESV

GREEK
ταχέως/ tacheōs: hastily, carelessly

CONSIDER
For those unfamiliar with Paul, the life of the author of Galatians was marked by change. Acts 9 records that Paul was traveling to Damascus to find Christians to persecute, when suddenly (v. 3) a light shone all around him, stopped him in his tracks, and blinded him. God then called him to faith in Jesus and when a Christian named Ananias spoke to him about God’s grace, he immediately (v. 18) regained his sight. The rest of Paul’s life was devoted to serving the same God whose followers he had sought to destroy.
Significant and positive change can happen in an instant. Paul’s twin experiences being enveloped in glory and miraculously healed both happened in an instant. So just because change happens quickly does not mean it’s a bad thing. When Paul wrote to encourage the Galatians in their faith, he started off by expressing his astonishment “that you are so tacheōs (hastily, carelessly)… turning to a different gospel.” There’s a chance that we could read this verse in English and assume that Paul was shocked at how fast they made their poor decision. But the original Greek adverb he uses focuses on a lack of wisdom, not a lack of patience. Paul’s shock stemmed from how carelessly the Galatians treated the grace of God, disregarding the truth that they had God’s approval and moving hastily toward the false gospel of performance-based righteousness. The apostle goes on to spend the next three chapters explaining the gospel of grace and faith that should inform every decision we make. There will be situations in which the true Gospel will call us to act immediately. May we filter all of our decisions through the grid of this gospel, and promptly take action on the things God is calling us to!

APPLY
What action is God asking me to take because I have his approval?

not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
– Galatians 1:7 ESV

GREEK
ταράσσοντες/ tarassontes: set in motion what needs to remain still

CONSIDER
There’s a general consensus that the most impactful tsunami in recorded history hit the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. At least 225,000 people were killed in a dozen countries, all because of displaced water. Waves as high as 30 feet swept through entire communities, even reaching land more than 1,800 miles from where they originated. The cause of this catastrophic tsunami? A 9.1 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. What made this event so devastating is that millions of people had established their lives on the assumption of stability… so long as the earth or sea never moved out of place, they could live, work, and play in comfort and safety. When elements are set in motion that are assumed to be stationary, untold destruction is bound to happen.
Part of Paul’s astonishment regarding the Galatians stems from their willingness to believe a lie regarding their stability. He speaks of false teachers who “tarassontes (set in motion what needs to remain still [within]) you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” Paul’s concern was that these people would convince his friends that security and dependability were found in something apart from Jesus. They were looking to tarassontes them – to unmoor them from the foundation of the gospel they trusted in. Much like a tsunami is destructive because we assume water will not move from its position, building on anything other than the gospel is catastrophic because nothing else is stable enough to hold the weight of our lives. Paul’s encouragement to the Galatians rings true in any context, because every age and culture must contend with things that promise stability for us. Only the good news of Jesus’ victory over sin and death is sturdy enough to build our lives upon!

APPLY
What action is God asking me to take because I have his approval?

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
– Galatians 1:10 ESV

GREEK
ζητῶ/zētō: aggressively seeking, searching for, desiring, demanding

CONSIDER
King Herod actively sought to destroy Jesus as a baby (Matt. 2:13). As a Rabbi, Jesus told us to actively seek after the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33), and that if you actively seek you will find (Matt. 7:7). These three instances all center around the same Greek verb, the very word Paul uses in today’s verse. Unfortunately, for ease of reading, many English translations neglect to expand on its full meaning. When Paul asks “Or am I zētō (aggressively seeking, searching for, desiring, demanding) to please man?” he is asking more than if he is trying to do so. Rather, he means to rhetorically ask if all of his energy and effort is being spent on seeking to be a people pleaser. The Bible often links where we place our energy with what we worship, so Paul is arguing that he wouldn’t be able to give his life in service to Christ if he was spending his energy on what people thought of him.
Did you know that the Bible describes both God the Father and the Son as actively seeking something? Luke 19:10 uses a form of zētō to tell us that the Son of Man came to seek lost people. And a tense of this verb is used in John 4:23 to describe what our Heavenly Father is actively seeking, searching for, and desiring: Spirit-Led worshipers. Put together, God is concerned with the rescue of the lost, and then walking with them along the process of becoming true worshipers. As we consider what action to take because we have God’s approval, actively desiring his presence in a posture of worship is a great way to begin imitating the Father’s heart!

APPLY
What action is God asking me to take because I have his approval?

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
– Galatians 1:13 ESV

GREEK
καθ ὑπερβολὴν/kath hyperbolēn: throwing far beyond all others; beyond exceeding measure

CONSIDER
In English, it means “obvious exaggeration.” But the Greek word it’s derived from certainly does not. The definition of Hyperbolēn is “to throw beyond all others,” and at first it might not seem obvious how our word hyperbole came from this. But much like how our culture can exaggerate the size of the fish we caught, Greek culture was apt to exaggerate how far they could throw an object. Hyperbolēn, then, came to be known in later eras as a way to express something that is thrown beyond the bounds of truth.
However, when Paul says that he “persecuted the church of God kath hyperbolēn (throwing far beyond all others; beyond exceeding measure) and tried to destroy it,” he was absolutely not using hyperbole. Paul authentically was more violent toward the church than anyone else alive at the time, and it was within this context that the revelation of Jesus changed his life. His was not a story of going from bad to good; the change in Paul was more like going from condemned murderer to exonerated free man. The gospel produced a difference in Paul that was complete and miraculous, the same kind of change that is required for each of us to stand before a holy God. When we allow the gospel to take root in our lives, the inevitable outflow is the willingness to share our story of life change with those we care about. So who needs to hear about the change the gospel has worked in you?

APPLY
Who needs to hear about the change the gospel has worked in me?

And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers
– Galatians 1:14 ESV

GREEK
προέκοπτον/proekopton: I was blazing my own trail through the wilderness

CONSIDER
Lansford Hastings was a pioneer who believed that there was a quicker way to get to California than the traditional route via the Oregon Trail. He asserted that a traveler could shave off 300 miles if they left the Trail near the Great Salt Lake and veered southwest toward Central California. The only problem was that there was a desert and a mountain range standing in the way. Hastings, hoping to establish a separate Republic in California, wrote a guide to settling on the west coast and spoke passionately about the “Hastings Cutoff.” But Hastings himself had never blazed the trail completely, and those who would choose to embark on the trail that bore his name (including the Donner Party) would have to endure a lack of water, a dearth of firewood, and deadly terrain.
As a culture, we are often enamored with the stories of men and women who have charted their own courses and forged their own paths. But if we’re not careful, we can become enamored with these trailblazers regardless of where their trails may lead. Paul was a man who was a leader among his peers, telling the Galatians “And proekopton (I was blazing my own trail through the wilderness) in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people.” The Greek verb he uses here was commonly used to describe a pioneer who would cut a new trail through brushwood to establish a path. So Paul is saying that in his former life he was a trailblazing pioneer in Judaism, a point of pride for him and of honor from others. But he goes on in Galatians to discuss how the path he cut actually led to a dead end, and wound up causing incredible pain for God’s people. It wasn’t until Jesus showed Paul the path of life that he blazed for all humanity that Paul experienced a change from death to life. Paul’s story should give us pause to consider whether the path we’re on is leading to a place of hope and joy for us and others. If not, Jesus is extending his hand of kindness to lead us along the path that he has forged with his death and resurrection!

APPLY
Who needs to hear about the change the gospel has worked in me?

They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
– Galatians 1:23 ESV

GREEK
ἐπόρθει/eporthei: lay to waste, ravage, annihilate

CONSIDER
At Centerway, we have a Because and Therefore statement that reads like this: Because of what Jesus has done we value CELEBRATION therefore we talk about Jesus a lot, rejoice over life-change, readily encourage and honor one another, and uplift our local communities. Spiritual life change is never enacted by our own strength but by Jesus Christ alone. As such, it is a bona fide miracle worthy of celebration when people turn toward God and away from their sinful desires. The change that the gospel enacted in Paul’s life led him to preach the faith he once tried to eporthei (lay to waste, ravage, annihilate). The only time this Greek word is used in the New Testament (both in Acts and Galatians) is to describe what Paul had attempted to do to Christianity before his conversion. We know from scripture that his plan was to eporthei the faith by seeking to eporthei Christians themselves. Thankfully, the transformative power of Jesus caused Paul to become a completely different person (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), and that same power is at work today in our lives! We can rejoice over life-change because the gospel doesn’t just clean up dirty people; it changes us into brand new people. As we surrender our lives to the will of God, may we be quick to celebrate the change we recognize in ourselves and those around us.

APPLY
Who needs to hear about the change the gospel has worked in me?

to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
– Galatians 2:5 ESV

GREEK
εἴξαμεν/eixamen: weaken, give way

CONSIDER
In 2023, the Merriam-Webster word of the year was authentic. According to the dictionary’s website, celebrities from all over the world have expressed a desire to use their “authentic voice” and remain true to their “authentic selves” this past year. Merriam-Webster concluded that in a world of artificial intelligence, the ability to prove one’s authenticity is a major concern for those hoping to be cultural influencers. It seems strange, then, that so many people in the public eye use other people as a gauge for how authentic they truly are. The prevailing idea in our culture is that a mark of “being authentic to who you are” is being followed by the right people for the right reasons. This leaves us wondering why authenticity requires someone else to declare we are being true to ourselves.
Although this issue sounds modern, a similar point of view was prevalent as the New Testament was being written. Paul references “false brothers” who had a problem with the freedom in Christ he was preaching. These people tried to persuade him and his companions to change how they lived because they feared Paul was influencing his followers to neglect the law. But to them, he did not eixamen (weaken, give way) in submission even for a moment. Rather than allowing others to define him and his theology, Paul let the Gospel speak for itself in its call to freedom. He knew that yielding to the whims of others without filtering their opinions through the lens of the Gospel would weaken their faith and inevitably lead to slavery. Allowing the Good News of Christ’s victory on our behalf to inform how we live is the most effective way to authentically impact our world.

APPLY
Who will I treat better because of the Gospel?

and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
– Galatians 2:9 ESV

GREEK
γνόντες/gnontes: came to recognize; rendered an accurate judgment based on fact

CONSIDER
In many Christian traditions, the Wednesday before Easter is called “Spy Wednesday.” The name commemorates the day Judas agreed to betray Jesus to the Jewish authorities. But why did he wait for that moment in particular? What was it that pushed Judas over the edge and led him to turn on his friend and Rabbi? The day after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, is recorded in the gospels anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. Judas was angry about this, because as the treasurer he had hoped Mary would sell the perfume and give him the profits. Matthew 26 records both that Jesus was aware of this thought process and that immediately after this Judas went to the chief priests to inquire about handing him over to them.
The Greek word Matthew uses to describe Jesus’ awareness of the situation is derived from the same word Paul uses to express how the early church leaders extended the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and him, once they gnontes(came to recognize) that God had given Paul grace. In English, the translation of this verb could be misconstrued to indicate that James, Cephas, and John all had the same opinion of Paul. In other words, we may be tempted to believe that these men extended fellowship to Paul and Barnabas simply because they held a high view of them. But gnontes is rooted in fact; quantifiable evidence was presented to these church leaders and their perception of Paul was established in that which could be proven. When we first encountered the gospel of grace, it didn’t merely change our opinion of Christ and others. Rather, we authentically gnontes the truth about the world we live in because of the evidence of Christ’s death and resurrection. Since this is true, who will I treat better because of the Gospel?

APPLY
Who will I treat better because of the Gospel?

Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
– Galatians 2:10 ESV

GREEK
ἐσπούδασα/espoudasa: I acted quickly, I cleared my schedule

CONSIDER
For all the words we use in connection with Jesus’ journey to the cross, reluctant is not one of them. Scripture attests to the fact that Jesus gladly accepted his Father’s call to come to Earth, and joyously endured the cross on what we now call Good Friday. In our “helpless estate,” Jesus was moved to action and stopped at nothing – not even the grave – to make us right with God.
A similar attitude is seen in Paul as he was extended the right hand of fellowship by the church leaders. Rather than leverage his newfound acclaim for his own comfort or glory, Paul said prioritizing the poor was “the very thing espoudasa (I acted quickly, I cleared my schedule) to do.” This apostle could have moved swiftly to build a following or establish a platform, but instead he chose to make a priority those who had nothing to offer him in return. Jesus didn’t hold anything back to move toward us, and Paul’s example of sacrifice in leadership should remind us that no matter our position, the gifts we have are simply to be stewarded for the glory of God.

APPLY
Who will I treat better because of the Gospel?

yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
– Galatians 2:16 ESV

GREEK
δικαιοῦται/dikaioutai: acquitted of sin or wrongdoing

CONSIDER
There is no doubt that Easter is one of the most important dates on the Christian calendar. As we celebrate the truth of the empty tomb, we are acknowledging that apart from the miracle of Easter we have no hope of salvation. Since this is the case, we must recognize that regardless of what the calendar says, today is Easter, too! Every day is both a recognition and a celebration of the risen Savior who paid the penalty for our sin. Paul said it this way: “we know that a person is not dikaioutai (acquitted of sin or wrongdoing) by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” Here, Paul employs a legal term often used in court when a person is found not guilty of the charges levied against them. No matter how much time, talent, and treasure we leverage to serve God and others, it does nothing to pay the debt we owe for the wrong we have done. We have been tried and found guilty, and yet through Jesus, we have been acquitted of all charges! Paul tells us that living contrary to the law of God demands we be judged, but with his sinless life, Jesus took our place on the stand in Heaven’s courtroom. Thank God that Jesus obeyed his Father’s plan so that we might exchange our disgrace for his perfection.

APPLY
Where in my life do I need to walk in the grace of God?

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
– Galatians 2:20 ESV

GREEK
παραδόντος/paradontos: handed over, delivered

CONSIDER
In the early 1500’s, Martin Luther was an Augustinian friar who held fast to the theology that the Pope expected him to adhere to. He did this because he loved the Lord and knew this to be the only way to express that love. But Luther also taught scripture in his local seminary, and he became increasingly discontent with the way the church articulated the way to be saved. The more Luther studied Galatians and the rest of Paul’s writings, the more he came to understand that, contrary to what the Pope said, people could not be forgiven from their sin through how much money they gave. Luther came to love the freedom he saw in the book of Galatians so much that he referred to it as “my Katie,” the name of his wife and best friend. This freedom changed the course of his life forever.
But the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation with his writings was quick to point out that this freedom came at a substantial cost. The hope of Heaven he lived with may not have been a result of working hard enough, but it still needed to be earned. Thankfully, Luther began teaching, Jesus earned this salvation for us by his death and resurrection. Paul communicated that his life was lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and paradontos (handed over, delivered) himself for me. Of the 120 times this Greek verb is used in the Bible, the vast majority of them have a negative connotation. But Jesus is really good at turning what we expect to be a bad thing into the best news we could ever receive! He didn’t get tricked, coerced, or forced into going to the cross; Jesus paradontos himself because of his love for all those who were helpless to save themselves. Much like Luther, celebrating the freedom that is found through the grace of God this week just might stir in us the kind of spiritual reformation that could redirect the course of our lives.

APPLY
Where in my life do I need to walk in the grace of God?

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
– Galatians 2:21 ESV

GREEK
Οὐκ ἀθετῶ/Ouk athetō: I do not neutralize, I do not set aside

CONSIDER
One of the most common superpowers that children and adults alike wish they had is the power of invisibility. In fact, this isn’t just a topic that comes up after reading comic books; scientists, researchers, and engineers all over the world are working to make this a reality. Imagine a suit you could put on or a spray you could use to hide in plain sight? Although these things aren’t a reality (yet), chemists have discovered a way to make odors “invisible” to our sense of smell. Products like Febreze use chemical compounds called cyclodextrins to literally surround and trap odors. This neutralizes the offensive scent, making it undetectable to our noses. The odor molecules do not get destroyed, they simply become set aside where they cannot make an impact.
As silly as it may sound, our hearts can display a tendency to want to “Febreze” the grace of God out of our lives. When we get the sense that we are doing well upholding the law, we can believe that our righteousness has earned us Heavenly favor. And when we aren’t performing at our best, our hearts often persuade us to do better or try harder so that we can regain that righteous air about us. But thankfully Paul reminds us that this mindset is far from reality, and tells the Galatians “Ouk athetō (I do not neutralize, I do not set aside) the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Here, Paul is combatting the tendencies of his heart to earn righteousness through his own merit, and confessing that the grace of God cannot be neutralized by personal effort. In fact, the more we set aside grace, the more difficult and burdensome our lives tend to become. It’s his grace, given on our behalf through Christ’s death on the cross, that allows us to walk in the freedom and hope we so desperately need.

APPLY
Where in my life do I need to walk in the grace of God?

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
– Galatians 3:1 ESV

GREEK
προεγράφη/proegraphē: vividly or graphically depicted beforehand

CONSIDER
A total solar eclipse is a unique phenomenon. It happens roughly every 100 years on average for a specific point on the map, and the path of totality is only about 50 miles wide. That means that the odds of looking in the sky at any given time in a year and seeing a total eclipse is close to 1 in 20 million! And yet, those who live in the path of a total eclipse can’t help but take notice. If a person is outside, there can be no denying that the sky is getting darker and the sun is being obstructed. Should someone argue that nothing is happening or that the sun is just setting as it always does, there would be undeniable evidence – through observation and experience – that this cannot be true.
Paul uses a similar idea to communicate his surprise that the Galatians were so quickly abandoning the gospel. He was shocked that they started out their Christian race so well, but were persuaded by false teachers to believe a different spiritual narrative. Paul claimed that “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was proegraphē (vividly or graphically depicted beforehand) as crucified.” He reminded the Galatians that he presented the gospel to them so vividly that it was as if Christ’s resurrection happened right in front of them. Walking away from the hope found in Jesus, then, would be tantamount to viewing a total eclipse but denying that anything out of the ordinary was happening. Despite the distance in time and miles between the Galatians and us, we could be tempted to believe the gospel is too good to be true as well. May we never be found guilty of anything close to this kind of spiritual error, and through faith, trust Jesus’ finished work on our behalf.

APPLY
Where will I stop striving and rest in God?

Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
– Galatians 3:4 ESV

GREEK
εἰκῇ/eikē: for no purpose, without a reason

CONSIDER
In Acts 20, Paul makes a declaration about the purpose for his one and only life. Expecting never to see his friends from Ephesus again, he told them that he considered his life worth nothing to him unless he could use it to testify to the grace of God. The remainder of Paul’s days on Earth were indeed spent in difficult situations but were also leveraged to showcase the beauty and hope of the gospel. Whether he found himself in prison, shipwrecked, or beaten, until the end of his life Paul’s reason for being couldn’t be obstructed.
Paul’s Christian life began with a similar perspective. In Galatians, his first letter, Paul asked, “Did you suffer so many things eikē (for no purpose, without a reason)— if indeed it was eikē?” Paul never seemed concerned with whether his life was comfortable, easy, or smooth. What does come through loud and clear is his desire for the Galatians to recognize that their pain has a purpose! These verses remind us that suffering may be a significant part of our story, but if we can point to Jesus through it all, it won’t be suffered eikē.

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Where will I stop striving and rest in God?

Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
– Galatians 3:5-6 ESV

GREEK
ἐλογίσθη/elogisthē: it was charged

CONSIDER
It was supposed to be a lunch break, but it turned into eight weeks in jail. In 2017, Ashley Huff borrowed a spoon from a friend in order to eat her Spaghetti O’s and planned on returning it when she was pulled over by police at a routine traffic stop. Thinking the dirty spoon was used to make methamphetamine, Huff was thrown in jail and spent over 50 days there in total before thorough lab testing proved that the spoon was merely covered in pasta sauce. She was charged with possession of illegal drugs, but when proven innocent, Huff was able to leave her jail cell with a declaration of innocence… and a very sincere apology!
Ashley Huff’s story reminds us that when a person is charged with a crime, there must be evidence to confirm its validity, or the charge will be dropped. In theory, a charge can only lead to a conviction if it is proven. Paul makes a similar point when he connects the work of the Spirit with the faith of Abraham. The good news is that the gift of the Holy Spirit and the miracles we see God perform in the world are not a product of working hard enough or being good enough. Paul says faith is central to this type of spiritual blessing and reminds his readers that Abraham believed God and elogisthē (it was charged) to him as righteousness. This verb comes from the Greek word where we get our word “logic,” indicating that righteousness was a logical indictment of how Abraham trusted God. It was Abraham’s faith that brought on the charge of being righteous! Both the Old and New Testaments assert the truth that our righteousness is derived from the work that God did on our behalf rather than what we could do for ourselves. That is good news indeed!

APPLY
Where will I stop striving and rest in God?

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
– Galatians 3:5-6 ESV

GREEK
κατάραν/kataran: a conviction with a sentence that must be fully served

CONSIDER
Of all the ways a person can become famous in our modern world, not many of us would be happy with gaining notoriety the way Frane Selak did. This man claimed to have survived several near death experiences, from being on a train when it derailed to being hit by a bus. Selak publically told the story of six such experiences, and as a result was dubbed “the luckiest unlucky man in the world.” Many who knew him were convinced that he was cursed, but ironically at age 73 Selak won over $1 million in the lottery, leaving friends and acquaintances alike scratching their heads.
When we read Galatians 3, there is a tendency to see Paul’s use of the word kataran in a similar way as we see the life of Frane Selak. We could be tempted to read this week’s passage with the understanding that all who rely on the works of the law are destined to have bad karma or unlucky vibes. Instead, we should understand that Paul is actually teaching a very practical point. He says, “For all who rely on the works of the law are under kataran (a conviction with a sentence that must be fully served). This Greek noun suggests something completely different than being condemned to suffer from bad luck. Paul’s use of the word kataran makes plain the truth that if a person wants to rely on their work for their standing with God, they will have to live with the sentence of trying to live up to God’s standard of perfection by themselves. But thank God that he sent his son Jesus to serve our sentence and take the consequences of our imperfection upon himself! When we rely on the perfect work of Jesus to bring us hope, we can finally take a break from our exhausting attempts at being good enough.

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How will I live with anticipation?

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
– Galatians 3:13 ESV

GREEK
ἐξηγόρασεν/exēgorasen: completely bought up; rescued from loss

CONSIDER
In 2022, American landowners averaged nearly 17 acres of private land per person. If that number seems large, consider this: the Emmerson family of Northern California owns over 2.4 million acres throughout the Pacific Northwest. That’s a larger area than both Delaware and Rhode Island! But although the Emmersons own an incredible amount of land, their holdings represent just about 1% of total acreage in the US. Traveling through their vast territory, you might easily get the impression that the Emmersons own every bit of land in the United States. But a broader perspective will reveal a different story.
When sin entered the world, the only hope humanity had to overcome was to uphold the law perfectly. We needed to live with absolute righteousness and abide by every regulation to avoid the eternal consequences of our sin. But because there isn’t a single person who could perfectly live up to that standard (see Romans 3:10), humanity was doomed to experience the curse of the law. Just when all seemed hopeless, Paul writes that “Christ exēgorasen (completely bought up; rescued from loss) us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” This is a Greek word that only Paul uses in the New Testament, and it is full of theological implications. Exēgorasen is a verb that, in other Greek writing, describes the act of taking full advantage of a buying opportunity. There is nothing that the buyer leaves out of his purchase – they buy up everything available to them! Paul tells us that Jesus completely covered us from the curse of the law by taking our place – becoming a curse for us. He didn’t leave any part of our lives “on the table.” As a result, we no longer have to fear that we haven’t done enough to live up to the standard of the law because Jesus has lived up to it for us. And because he has exēgorasen us, we are completely his and can live with anticipation of what Christ will do with the life he has redeemed.

APPLY
How will I live with anticipation?

so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
– Galatians 3:14 ESV

GREEK
εὐλογία/eulogia: gift, bounty; lit. good word

CONSIDER
How will I live with anticipation? This question is important to ask in part because it reminds us that all of us have a future! As we place our hope in Jesus and rest in the good news of his finished work, we can look forward to what comes next regardless of our current circumstances. Abraham was a man who was far from perfect, and yet God promised to bless him and his descendants. Why? Because Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. That faith set an example for Jewish believers for thousands of years, but now Paul says that in Christ Jesus the eulogia (gift, bounty) of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Eulogia is where we get our word “eulogy,” a speech designed to speak well of someone who is recently deceased or retired. When delivered, a eulogy typically highlights what a person will be remembered for – how they have been a blessing. For as faith-filled as he was, the blessing of Abraham’s life was that it simply pointed to the One who would make good on what he was promised. Through Jesus, we have access to God’s Holy Spirit, a gift that we could never earn with our own work. It is this access to the divine presence of the Spirit that leads us to live with the gift of Heavenly anticipation.

APPLY
How will I live with anticipation?​

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
– Galatians 3:19 ESV

GREEK
παραβάσεων/parabaseōn: intentionally crossing the line

CONSIDER
On December 2, 2023, TCU Forward Emmanuel Miller hit a game-winning 3-point basket to beat the Georgetown Hoyas as time expired. Although he was immediately mobbed by his teammates, Miller had to wait a few minutes before truly celebrating the victory because officials needed to review the play to ensure the shot beat the buzzer. When they did, they noticed something they had missed: Miller had stepped out of bounds before the ball left his hand. By rule, the shot should not have counted, and TCU should have lost the game. But since the officials didn’t notice Miller crossing the in-bounds line in real-time, they could not change the call. TCU was declared the winner even though Miller had broken the rules to do so.
Embedded in Paul’s writing to the Galatians is a theological question that has been asked for thousands of years: If the Law is powerless to save anyone, why did God provide it in the first place? Paul’s answer to this question is that “it was added because of parabaseōn (an intentional crossing of the line).” In other words, God didn’t provide the Law so that it could save us. He provided the Law so that it could reveal our need to be saved. Like Emmanuel Miller, we have all crossed the line in one way or another, but Paul reminds us that, unlike Miller, we cannot claim that our parabaseōn was accidental or unintentional. Thankfully, Jesus came to stand alongside us in our broken humanity and fulfill the promise that the Law never could. The incarnation of Jesus is central to the gospel and is the only hope we have to be rescued from the consequence of our parabaseōn.

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Who is God calling me to stand alongside?

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
– Galatians 3:23 ESV

GREEK
συγκεκλεισμενοι/sugkleiovmenoi: having been collectively caught or trapped

CONSIDER
The story of Jesus calling his first disciples is recorded in Luke 5. He was ministering to so many people that he needed to borrow a boat to preach from, that way the crowds wouldn’t push in around him and muffle his message. When he was done, Jesus asked Peter and his crew to cast their nets in deeper water to catch some fish. Peter obeyed, even though he had fished those waters all night and caught nothing. His faithful obedience to what Jesus had asked produced an enclosure of fish so large that the nets began to break! Peter, James, and John immediately chose to follow Jesus because of what they had seen him do.
Paul uses the same language as Luke in this story to convey how powerful the law was before Christ came. He says before faith came, we were held captive under the law, sugkleiovmenoi (having been collectively caught or trapped) until the coming faith would be revealed. This Greek word is derived from the same word Luke used to describe how Peter’s net enclosed the fish. The law entrapped us; it caught us in its net and wrapped itself around us until we were enclosed with no way of escape. The more we tried to perfectly uphold the Law, the tighter the trap became. But the gospel declares that Jesus came to destroy the trap of the Law by fulfilling it perfectly on our behalf! His perfection was then imparted to us as he died in our place and was raised to life again. Jesus is still calling followers today – people who will faithfully obey his commands as they walk with him daily. May we view our obedience as a response to the freedom he has won on our behalf.

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Who is God calling me to stand alongside?

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
– Galatians 3:27 ESV

GREEK
ἐνεδύσασθε/enedysasthe: have dressed themselves with

CONSIDER
What comes to mind when you think of a prison uniform? Many of us immediately imagine a black and white striped jumpsuit, the first standard-issue prison wear ever created. The black and white outfit was invented 200 years ago in Auburn, NY, and was intended to symbolize prison bars as a way to make escapees recognizable to the public. The purpose of wearing this clothing was simply to differentiate imprisoned people from free people. Little consideration was given for how these clothes fit or how comfortable they were; the uniform was designed to accomplish one thing. Stripes may have fallen out of favor, but the concept of clothing inmates to stand out in their appearance continues to this day.
Paul makes a rich theological point when he declares, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ enedysasthe(have dressed themselves with) Christ.” Paul uses a verb that literally means to cinch to one’s body, highlighting the good feeling that properly fitting clothing brings. The difference between the Law – our impersonal caretaker – and the hope that is found in Jesus, can be seen in this word. Trusting Jesus is not always easy, comfortable, or relaxing, but it produces a peace we can relax into. If Paul were writing today, he might liken it to dressing ourselves in our favorite sweatshirt when it’s just come out of the dryer on a cold day. Like stripes on an Auburn prisoner, the Law only cared about pointing out our flaws. But Christ came to be the perfect fit for any situation we may be called to!

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