Understand, then,
This phrase serves as a call to comprehension and reflection. Paul is urging the Galatians to grasp the significance of his argument. In the context of the letter, Paul is addressing the Galatians' confusion over the necessity of following Jewish law for salvation. This imperative to "understand" is a common rhetorical device used by Paul to emphasize the importance of the teaching that follows.

that those who have faith
Faith is central to Paul's theology. Here, faith refers to belief and trust in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Savior. This concept of faith is contrasted with adherence to the Law of Moses, which some Jewish Christians were insisting upon. Paul emphasizes that it is faith, not works of the law, that justifies and connects believers to God's promises. This aligns with the broader biblical narrative, where faith is consistently highlighted as the means by which individuals are counted righteous before God, as seen in Hebrews 11.

are sons of Abraham.
This phrase connects believers in Christ to Abraham, the patriarch of Israel. In Jewish tradition, being a descendant of Abraham was a source of pride and identity. However, Paul redefines what it means to be a "son of Abraham." He argues that true descendants are not determined by physical lineage but by sharing in Abraham's faith. This is a radical redefinition that opens the covenant promises to Gentiles. It echoes Genesis 15:6, where Abraham's faith is credited to him as righteousness. Paul further elaborates on this in Romans 4, where he explains that Abraham is the father of all who believe, both Jew and Gentile. This connection to Abraham also points to the fulfillment of God's promise that all nations would be blessed through him, as stated in Genesis 12:3.

1. Paul the Apostle
The author of the letter to the Galatians, addressing the churches in Galatia to correct false teachings and emphasize justification by faith.

2. Abraham
A patriarch in the Hebrew Bible, considered the father of faith, whose belief in God was credited to him as righteousness.

3. Galatia
A region in modern-day Turkey where Paul established churches and to whom this letter is addressed.

4. Judaizers
A group within the early church advocating that Gentile converts must adhere to Jewish law, including circumcision, to be true Christians.

5. Gentile Believers
Non-Jewish converts to Christianity who are being reassured by Paul of their inclusion in God's promises through faith.Faith as the Basis of Righteousness
Just as Abraham was justified by faith, believers today are called to trust in God's promises rather than rely on their own works or adherence to the law.

Spiritual Heritage
Being a "son of Abraham" is not about physical descent but about sharing in the faith that Abraham exhibited. This spiritual lineage is open to all who believe in Christ.

Unity in Christ
The message of Galatians 3:7 emphasizes the unity of all believers, Jew and Gentile alike, under the promise of faith, breaking down barriers of ethnicity and tradition.

Living by Faith
Believers are encouraged to live by faith daily, trusting in God's guidance and provision, just as Abraham did, even when the path is unclear.

Rejecting Legalism
The Galatians are warned against returning to legalistic practices that nullify the grace of God. Christians today must also guard against legalism, focusing instead on a relationship with Christ.(7) The main point of the Apostle's argument in the present passage is the superiority of faith over the Law. He has, however, also in view the ulterior consequences of that superiority. Unlike the Law, faith is open to all Gentiles as well as Jews. The promise, therefore, being annexed to faith, contained the death-blow of all those exclusive privileges which the Judaising party in Galatia claimed for themselves, and of all those burdensome regulations which they were for imposing upon the Galatian Christians. This, too, the Apostle brings out by showing that the believers in Christ, whatever their nationality, are the true spiritual descendants of Abraham.

Know ye.--The verb here may either be in the indicative or in the imperative: "know ye," or "ye know." Perhaps, on the whole, the imperative, as in the Authorised version, is best.

They which are of faith.--Those whose principles of action are derived from faith; those whose master-motive is faith.

Children of Abraham.--This idea of a spiritual descent from Abraham is found also in Romans 4:11-12; Romans 4:16; Romans 9:6-8.

Verse 7. - Know ye therefore (γινώσκετε ἄρα); or, ye perceive then. Critics are divided between the two renderings, the imperative and the indicative, both here and Matthew 24:43; 1 John 2:29. In Luke 10:11 and Hebrews 13:23 γινώσκετε is certainly imperative. The categorical imperative seems of the two the more suited to the apostle's impetuous temperament. The verb γινώσκω, like the Latin nosco, properly denotes "to come to know," "learn," "perceive," "get apprised;" ἔγνωκα or ἔγνων, like now, having more properly the sense of "knowing." But this distinction does not always hold, as e.g. Romans 7:1. That they which are of faith (ὅτι οἱ ἐκ πίστεως); that the men of faith; that is, who derive their position from faith, belong to faith, are above all things characterized by faith. Compare the expressions, τοῖς ἐξ ἐριθείας, "the men of factiousness, i.e. "factions men" (Romans 2:8); τὸ ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ, "the man of faith in Jesus," taking his stand thereupon (Romans 3:26). Closely affine to this usage of the preposition, if not quite the same, is, ὁ ω}ν ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας, "that is of the truth" (John 18:37); οἱ ἐκ νόμου, "they which are of the Law" (Romans 4:14); ὅσοι ἐξ ἔργων νόμου εἰσίν, (ver. 10 of this chapter). The same are the children of Abraham (οῦτοί εἰσιν υἱοὶ Ἀβραάμ); these are sons of Abraham. The form of expression is precisely the same as in Romans 8:14, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God (οῦτοί εἰσιν υἱοὶ Θεού) these are sons of God." In both cases the absence of the article before viol suggests the feeling that the apostle is simply stating a predicate of the class before defined, but not now affirming that this predicate is confined to that class, although, again in each case, he knew that it was so confined. Just here, what he is concerned to affirm is that the possession of faith is a complete and sufficient qualification for sonship to Abraham. There is, perhaps, a polemical reference to the teaching of certain in Galatia, that, to be sons of Abraham or interested in God's covenant with his people, it behoved men to be circumcised and to observe the ceremonial Law. This error would be satisfactorily met by the affirmation of the present verse, that the being believers, simply this, constitutes men sons of Abraham. In the tenth verse the apostle goes further, aggressively denying to those who "were of the works of the Law" the possession at all of Abrahamic privilege. The class, "men of faith," did in fact include Jewish believers as well as Gentile; but just hero, as seems probable from what is said in the next verse, the apostle has in view Gentile believers only. The writer's thoughts are hovering round that promise of God ("So shall thy seed be") which had been on that particular occasion the object of Abraham's faith. That this was the case we may infer from his citation of the words in Romans 4:18, the explanation of which had been prepared for by him in what he has said before in ver. 16, "To the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed: not to that only which is of the Law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all." It was this that led him to speak of being sons of Abraham. This train of thought is pursued further in the next two verses.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Understand,
Γινώσκετε (Ginōskete)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1097: A prolonged form of a primary verb; to 'know' in a great variety of applications and with many implications.

then,
ἄρα (ara)
Conjunction
Strong's 686: Then, therefore, since. Probably from airo; a particle denoting an inference more or less decisive.

that
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

those who
οἱ (hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

have
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

faith
πίστεως (pisteōs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

are
εἰσιν (eisin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

[the] sons
υἱοί (huioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

of Abraham.
Ἀβραάμ (Abraam)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 11: Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew race. Of Hebrew origin; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch.


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NT Letters: Galatians 3:7 Know therefore that those who (Gal. Ga)