Useful Bible Studies > Galatians Commentary > chapter 3
Galatians 3:6-9
The importance of Abraham
Paul writes about Abraham. There are important reasons why Paul has to explain about Abraham.
(1) The Christians in Galatia wanted to obey the *Jewish rules. So they must ask someone to *circumcise them. Abraham was the first person in the Bible who received this mark. But he did not do it because of any rules. He did it because of God’s promises.
(2) The Christians in Galatia wanted to be like *Jews. So Abraham was very important to them. The *Jews came from Abraham’s family. The families of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, were the first *Jews. The *Jews were special because of God’s promises to Abraham.
(3) The Bible says that God made Abraham *righteous (Genesis 15:6). God did not do this because Abraham obeyed any rules. God did not give his rules until 430 years later. God made Abraham *righteous because Abraham believed God. That is, Abraham believed God’s promises to him.
God’s promises to Abraham
So Paul has to write about God’s promises. Genesis 12:2-3 is the first promise to Abraham. There is a surprise in that promise. The Christians in Galatia wanted to become like *Jews. But God promised to be kind to people everywhere. So God promised to help the people in Galatia too! That was part of God’s promise to Abraham. And they did not have to become *Jews first!
Abraham believed God
The most important fact about Abraham is that he believed God. So people who believe God become like Abraham. It is those people who really belong to Abraham’s family. Other people may belong to Abraham’s human family. But if they do not believe God, they are not like Abraham.
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© 2015, Keith Simons.