It is not so easy for us to see the aspect of the Spirit mentioned in the book of Galatians. We have seen that the book of Romans talks about the Spirit of life. By studying 1 Corinthians diligently we all can see that the Spirit there is the life-giving Spirit. It is easier to see that in 2 Corinthians there is the transforming Spirit; however, it is not so easy to see what is the aspect of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians.
During the time that Paul wrote this book, the Christians were being bothered, troubled, and distracted by the law keepers, the Judaizers. These law keepers or Judaizers, on the one hand, pretended to be Christians, but they still remained so faithful to Moses. They treasured the law much more than the gospel. They not only kept the law by themselves but they also did their best to Judaize the Gentile believers, misleading them to keep the law rather than hearing the faith. To hear the faith means to receive the gospel.
We realize today that the law was absolutely an Old Testament matter. It was something in letter and at best it was something in promise, in types, and in prophecies. Nothing was a reality and everything was in letters and in shadows. The Judaizers, however, did not realize this and treasured these shadows, and they forced the Gentile believers to follow them in treasuring these shadows. The stress in their teaching distracted and even misled the believers. Those believers who had been distracted were missing the blessing of the gospel. Under such a background, Paul wrote this short Epistle to the Galatians.
In the first two chapters Paul presented the Galatians with a clear view that God’s intention is to work Christ into us as everything. God had no intention for His chosen people to keep the law. His intention was only to use the law as a custodian, a guardian, a child-conductor, to watch over His chosen people before Christ came, and to escort and conduct them to Christ when He did come (3:24-25). The law is also likened to a sheepfold (John 10:1), in which God’s chosen people were kept and guarded in custody and ward until Christ came. When the day of Christ’s coming dawned, God wanted His chosen people to come out of the fold, to come out of custody, to receive Christ directly as their life and life-supply.
In chapter one Paul showed that God’s intention is to reveal His Son, Jesus Christ, into His chosen people (v. 16). God did not have any intention of revealing the law in His chosen people. God’s desire is that His chosen people would receive His Son into them. This is the gospel. In chapter two Paul goes on to show us that Christ replaces the law and that God did not want us to keep the law. Rather, God put us on the cross with Christ, and we have died to law that we might live to God (2:19). We have been crucified with Christ on the cross, and it is no longer we who live but Christ lives in us (v. 20). Christ lives in us not to the law, but to God. We do not live to the law, but we live to God. We do not live a life to keep the law, but we live a life to express God. We have nothing to do with the law since the obligation under the law, the relationship to the law, was terminated in Christ’s death. Not only were we crucified, but even the law of the commandments in ordinances was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14).
In chapter three Paul was very frank in his writing to the Galatians. He called them “foolish Galatians” (v. 1). When Paul wrote the Galatians, they had all been misled to be blind and veiled, to be foolish. Therefore, Paul called them foolish Galatians and he asked them, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of law or by the hearing of faith?” (3:2). By receiving the gospel, the Galatians received the consummation of the Triune God which is the living, all-inclusive Spirit. He is so living, so real, so availing, and so prevailing, and much higher than the law. Paul wanted to show the Galatians how foolish it is to neglect the Spirit and drift back to the law. Paul told them that since they had begun their Christian life in a good way by the Spirit, they should run the race to be perfected by the Spirit. However, they were distracted, trying to take the way of the law. So Paul asked them, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (3:3). To begin by the Spirit is by faith in Christ; to be perfected by the flesh is by works of law (3:2).