Shingi’s Bible Commentary: Galatians Chapter 3 Part 1
Study Guide
“Galatians 3: Faithfulness and the Promise of Christ”
Teacher Shingi provides key themes and facts from the provided source, “Galatians 3: Faithfulness and the Promise of Christ,”. The overarching message emphazises salvation and righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, contrasting it sharply with adherence to the Mosaic Law. A significant portion of this commentary is dedicated to re-defining “faithfulness” in a biblical context, particularly as it applies to God and Abraham.
Key Themes:
1. “Justification by Faith, Not by the Law:“
The central argument of Galatians 3, and the core message of the commentary, is that salvation and righteousness are received solely through faith in Jesus Christ, not through adherence to the Mosaic Law. The Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Galatians is presented as an attack on those who tried to “mix the law of Moses and the faith of Jesus Christ.”
1. “Paul calls bewitchment to mix the the law of Moses and the faith of Jesus Christ.”
O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (Galatians 3:1)
2. “You cannot impose things of the law of Moses to those who are of the faith of Jesus Christ.”
3. The reception of the Holy Spirit is cited as proof of justification through faith in Christ alone:
“Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:2)
4. Miracles and transformation are attributed to: the “hearing of faith,” not “works of the law.” (Galatians 3:5)
5. “For if righteousness came by the law, then Christ died in vain.”
“That no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident. For the just shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11)
2. Abraham as the Archetype of Faith:
Paul presents Abraham’s faith in God as the foundational example of justification by faith, predating the Mosaic Law. His faith in God’s “word of promise” was “accounted to him for righteousness.”
“Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Galatians 3:6)
1. Teacher Shingi references Genesis 15, where Abraham believed God’s promise of a seed.
“And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
2. This faith in God’s Word is contrasted with attempts to keep the Ten Commandments as a means of salvation. “You didn’t fulfill any part of the law or try to fulfill any part of the law to be saved… not the observing of the law, but the hearing of faith.” (Galatians 3:5)
3. Christ as Abraham’s “Seed” and the Fulfillment of the Promise:
The “seed” promised to Abraham is identified as Jesus Christ. Through Christ, the blessings promised to Abraham extend to all nations (Gentiles), not just the Jews, and are received through faith.
“And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed.” (Galatians 3:8)
1. The repeated phrase “and to your seed” in God’s promises to Abraham (Genesis 15, 22) is interpreted by Paul as referring to “Christ.”
“And if ye be Christ, then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)
2. “Christ is the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abraham.” Through Christ, the blessing of Abraham comes to the Gentiles, allowing them to receive the “promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14)
“And it says, and the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In you shall all nations be blessed. In you shall all nations be blessed.”
4. Redefining “Faithfulness” (Pistos/Emunah):
Shingi provides a significant and detailed explanation to distinguish the biblical meaning of “faithfulness” from its common English dictionary definition (loyalty, dependability).
“Faithfulness! We need to get into Seven Miracles of Righteousness again by the grace of God, so that we can really, really, package it and put it out for the people. Because the body of Christ needs that message even more so now. And one of those miracles, one of those great miracles of righteousness is faithfulness.”
1. Biblical faithfulness, particularly as it relates to God and “faithful Abraham,” means “being filled with faith” or “being full of faith.”
2. It is not about loyalty or commitment in a human sense, but about the “character” of God and the “power of God’s faith.”
“When God says it, you can take it to the bank, even just as when you have seen it written in the word of God. When you say God is faithful, what you mean is that God, because he is God, His Word is All Powerful and when He has declared His Word over your life… it will come to pass, it will come to pass, it will come to pass! That’s the faithfulness of God. It has to do with His Faith, not loyalty.”
Teacher Shingi further explains scripturally God’s faithfulness in that “God is only faithful to Himself in that He is only loyal to Himself and only loyal His Word and in no one and in nothing else”.
“That’s what He means in Genesis 22 when He says…by Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, ….and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed!” (Genesis 22:16 – 18)
“That’s the faithfulness of God. God is not faithful to you, He is faithful to His Word”.
3. God’s faithfulness means His Word will come to pass because He is full of faith in His Own Word. “God believes in His Word. God Is Faith. The Word of God is faith.“
4. Teacher Shingi also describes faithfulness as “a miracle of righteousness,” where one receives the “creative ability to be able to speak a word… and that word to come to pass.” This is because the child of God’s “words have now been filled with God’s faith, because of the righteousness of God that is now in your human spirit.”
5. Abraham’s “faithfulness” was not loyalty, but his being “so full of faith” when he believed God’s Word, even when it seemed impossible (e.g., having a child at old age, sacrificing the child trusting that God would raise him back to life).
“We have believed God! We have believe God, who calls things that be not as though they were! And say, I am blessed, I am blessed even when everything around looks like its not blessed, we say I am blessed haha!!”
“That is the faithfulness of God at work in us”
6. The Hebrew word “emunah” (faith/faithfulness) and the Greek “pistos” (faithful/trustworthy) are explored to support this definition, both deriving from words meaning “to believe” and “to trust.”
““The faithfulness that comes from righteousness, which has got nothing to do with loyalty, but has got everything to do with being filled, Hallelujah., with faith in God’s Word to the full, being filled with the Word of God to the full!”
5. The Law’s Purpose as a “Schoolmaster”:
The Mosaic Law was not given to provide life or justification, but was “added because of transgressions” until Christ, the promised “seed,” came. It served as a “schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.” Once faith in Christ arrived, the role of the schoolmaster ceased.
Important Ideas/Facts:
1. Galatians 3 Context: The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians was a direct response to a sect of “Christian Jews” from Jerusalem who were pressuring Gentile Christians to observe the Mosaic Law (e.g., Ten Commandments) in addition to faith in Christ for salvation. Paul calls this a “bewitchment.”
2.The “Gospel preached before Abraham”: The promises God made to Abraham regarding his “seed” and “all nations being blessed” are revealed by Paul as God “preaching the gospel” to Abraham in advance of Christ’s coming.
3.“Just shall live by faith”: This crucial statement (Habakkuk 2:4, quoted in Galatians 3:11) is central to the doctrine of justification by faith.
4.Christ’s Redemption from the Curse of the Law: Jesus becoming “a curse for us” by hanging on a tree (crucifixion) redeemed believers from the curse associated with failure to keep all aspects of the Mosaic Law.
5.Unity in Christ: In Christ, distinctions such as “Jew nor Greek,” “bond nor free,” “male nor female” are abolished, as all believers are “one in Christ Jesus” and “children of God by faith.”
6.Righteousness: Accounted vs. Cashed Out: While Abraham’s righteousness was “accounted” (postdated) to him through faith, believers in Christ receive the righteousness of God “cashed out,” becoming the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
7.The Power of Speaking the Word: Consistent with the definition of faithfulness as being “full of faith,” believers, as “children of Abraham,” are encouraged to “call things that be not as though they were,” speaking words that align with God’s promises, even when physical circumstances contradict them. This is presented as an “expression of faithfulness.”
“We have believed God like our father Abraham. We believe God who calls things that be not as though they were. This is our character. This is our life. This is our calling. This is who we have been made to be. We are the children of Abraham, and we are blessed with faithful Abraham in that we speak. We call things that be not as though they were. Just like our father. God is our Father. Hallelujah. That is faithfulness. That is the faithfulness of righteousness where we call things that be not as though they were. Hey, hey yeah yeah!.”