What Old Testament examples support the faith principle in Galatians 3:2? Setting the Stage • Galatians 3:2: “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” • Paul’s question turns attention to the Old Testament to show that God has always responded to believing hearts, never to mere rule-keeping. Abraham: Credited Righteousness by Faith • Genesis 15:5-6: “And the LORD took him outside and said, ‘Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.’ Then He told him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” • Key points – No circumcision yet, no Sinai Law—only trust in God’s promise. – Galatians 3:6 cites this verse as Paul’s first proof that righteousness comes by faith. – Genesis 12:2-3 shows the promise extends to “all peoples,” anticipating Gentile inclusion by faith. Sarah and Isaac: Promise Received Through Faith, Not Human Effort • Hebrews 11:11 reflects Genesis 18 & 21, stressing that Sarah “considered Him faithful who had promised.” • Genesis 21:1-2: “The LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.” • Lesson: the child of promise arrived by God’s power, not by Abraham’s works (contrast Ishmael, born of human strategy). Paul uses this in Galatians 4:22-23. The Passover Exodus: Salvation by Substitutionary Lamb • Exodus 12:13: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you; no plague will come upon you to destroy you.” • Israel’s safety depended on trusting God’s word, applying the lamb’s blood, not on moral performance. • Foreshadows Christ, “our Passover lamb” (1 Corinthians 5:7), received by faith. The Bronze Serpent: Look and Live • Numbers 21:8-9: “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole; everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, will live.” • The cure required a believing look, not a work. • Jesus applies the incident to faith in Himself (John 3:14-15). Rahab: Gentile Grafted In by Faith • Joshua 2:11: “for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.” • Rahab’s declaration of faith led to her rescue (Joshua 6:25). • Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 list her as an example of faith that acts on what it believes. David: Blessed Forgiveness Apart from Works • Psalm 32:1-2: “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him.” • Paul quotes this in Romans 4:6-8 to show that even under the Law, forgiveness rested on God’s mercy received by faith. Habakkuk: The Just Shall Live by Faith • Habakkuk 2:4: “But the righteous will live by his faith.” • Cited in Galatians 3:11, Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38, underscoring that life—spiritual and eternal—has always been granted through trust in God. Lessons for Today • From Genesis to the Prophets, God consistently honors believing hearts. • Works follow faith, but never replace it (Ephesians 2:8-10). • The Spirit, justification, and blessing flow the same way now as then: “by hearing with faith.” |
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