Saved yet Foolish. Galatians 3:1-2.
Dear Royal Priesthood,
Finally, the frustration of the apostle Paul with the Galatians cannot be hidden anymore. In the first five verses of this chapter, he plays out that frustration in an uncharacteristic tirade.
Exasperation(v. 1a). Paul expresses his frustration with two phrases. In the first, he calls the Galatians foolish. In a word, a fool is a person who does not know what is good for him. Esau is called a fool for having chosen a single meal over a vast inheritance (Hebrews 12:16). He is compared to fornicators who desecrate holy marriage. To the apostle, for the Galatians to abandon faith for the law is insane. In his second phrase, the apostle asks who has bewitched them. This is not to say that Paul believed in witchcraft, or that the Galatians had been bewitched. This is a figure of speech that means someone has misled them and taken control of their thinking so that they can no longer see the obvious. It is easy to be misled. Lies that sound like the truth are easy to swallow, so be wary of things that are against the basics of the gospel that you have been taught.
Evidence (v. 1b). Paul had elaborated the gospel clearly to the Galatians. He had painted for them the image of the crucified Jesus Christ. This was important, not for its graphic portrayal, but for the substitutionary value. The death of Christ was a sacrifice to pay for the sins of humanity. There is no need for one who has put dependence on Christ for justification to seek anything extra. That the Galatians had been deceived by the legalists to add the law to Christ is the source of Paul’s frustration.
Experience (v. 2). The Galatians had, when they turned to Christ by faith, received the Holy Spirit, most probably with manifestations such as speaking in tongues, prophesying, and the bestowal of spiritual gifts. This would have been similar to the experience of the Jewish believers on the day of Pentecost, but for the gentiles among the Galatians, no adherence to the Jewish law had been required, for them to receive the Holy Spirit. The most important experience happened without the law, so why did they now need the law?
A good question for each of us too, isn’t it?
Your Loving Pastor Chris.