Galatians 3:1-14
Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? (v. 2b) Our Men’s Group has been on a “Three Streams” mission; currently our topic is the “Spirit-filled stream”. We are looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels, in Acts, and in the Epistles. So here we find Paul’s first reference to the Holy Spirit in the first of the many letters/epistles that he wrote. My Study Bible noted that we will see sixteen more references to the Spirit in this Epistle!! I love it when our studies overlap!
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? (v. 5) This quote is the ESV translation, but I have capitalized the deific pronoun, “He”. The NASB and the NKJV both capitalize deific pronouns, but the ESV does not. I suppose it’s because the ESV does not want to “put words into our mouth” or, more realistically, thoughts into our head. But when it’s fairly clear that the “He” refers to Jesus or His Father, I see no reason not to capitalize it – for the sake of clarity. As to the content of this verse, “…He who supplies the Spirit to you…”, you may recall Jesus’ promise to His followers at the Last Supper, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper…” (John 14:16) Here we see Paul writing that Jesus has fulfilled His promise – He or the Father has sent the Holy Spirit. Closing the loop…!
As we get deeper into the Epistles the readings get more difficult – not as much narrative as we see in the Gospels or in Acts. But we read on – there is good material for us to digest!
See also: March 6 / Gal. 3:1-14