1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 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? (Galatians 3:1-5)

The Gospel: What Christ Has Done

Have you ever watched a movie that made you feel like you were there? For me, the movie 1917 is like that. It's a vivid portrayal of World War I, where two young soldiers are told to bring a message to another unit, but they must cross through enemy territory to do so. It has me on the edge of my seat every time I watch it. It is gripping because it puts you there. It is a clear and masterpiece portrayal of war in that era.[^1]

When Paul went to Galatia with the gospel, he had clearly and powerfully depicted Jesus for them. He had publicly portrayed Jesus Christ as crucified to the Galatians (1). He had set Jesus and his cross before their eyes (1). With power, clarity, and boldness, Paul had brought these Galatians to the foot of the cross. It was like they'd seen, not just with their eyes, but with their souls, the cross. But now they were turning from Jesus and the sufficiency of his cross—and Paul can't believe it!

So Paul began this new doctrinal portion of his letter with a jolt, calling the Galatians a foolish group who someone must have cast a spell on (1). He wondered aloud who had bewitched them, using a popular concept from his day that said people could be influenced for evil through the eye (1). Like Sauron's eye influenced so many in the Lord of the Rings, someone must have affected these Galatians if they were willing to turn so quickly from Jesus![^2]

If you've ever seen an artistic depiction of someone using a crucifix in a superstitious way to somehow defend themselves against forces of darkness, you've seen a good illustration of what Paul is doing in this section. He thinks the Galatians are spellbound by legalism, so Paul holds up the cross of Christ. He wants to ward off the deleterious effects of false gospels with the true one.

And notice that the essence of Paul's message to them was not values or morals—how they should live—but how and why Christ died on the cross. The gospel wasn't just a message or a set of beliefs. It was an event: the brutal death of their Lord and Savior.

To the Corinthians, Paul said, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). This doesn't mean that Paul wouldn't talk about anything but the cross. But it does mean that everything Paul proclaimed, taught, and exhorted was rooted in the cross of Christ. Everything we think, feel, and do should be tied to the cross.[^3] But for this to occur, we must see the gospel. Jesus must be vividly portrayed in our minds and hearts as the one who was crucified for us. We must see his cross.

"As Christians, we need to relearn the gospel every day. We are prone to wander, as the old hymn says, and hence we may act as if a spell has been cast over us. The Christian life is a battle to rely on the gospel...In our counseling and our preaching and teaching we must summon people over and over to the cross of Christ and call them to look away from themselves and focus on Christ. We may slowly drift from the gospel, just as the Galatians did. The problems Paul addressed in Galatia remind us all that the Christian life cannot be lived on autopilot, that there is a daily struggle to grasp the gospel." —Thomas Schreiner, Galatians[^4]

Because Paul wanted them—and because God wants us—to see the gospel, Paul asked them a series of rhetorical questions as he pivoted his letter to a defense of gospel doctrine. Each question is rooted in the cross. Each question highlights some of the beautiful benefits of the gospel. If someone sees the gospel afresh, they will see each of these benefits clearly. So what are they?

1. The Gospel Unleashed The Spirit (3:2)

Paul's first rhetorical question helps us remember that the gospel unleashed the Spirit. He asked them, "Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?" (2) These Galatians knew the answer. When Paul and his friend Barnabas had traveled through Galatia years earlier, they shared that Christ had died and risen for the Galatians in order to justify them before God. They needed to repent and believe the gospel, which they did. And when they did, every one of them received the Holy Spirit of God. He began residing within them at the moment of their justification. They were renewed, regenerated, born again by the Spirit.

In fact, there was no way they received the Spirit by works of the law (2). How do we know? They were Gentiles; they hadn't ever even considered doing the works of the law. It was only later, when legalists showed up in their towns, that the idea of law-keeping to gain God's approval began to get traction. No, the Galatians had simply seen and believed the gospel of Christ. And, when they did, the Spirit immediately began residing within them.

And the Spirit-led life is much more beautiful than the legalism-led one. I don't know about you, but there is something about airplane travel that I love. Without distractions, I enjoy writing, creating, thinking, or reading whatever I want. But, as many airlines have added screens to the back of every seat, I have noticed a terrible habit. Sitting there, thinking, brainstorming, or creating, I notice my eyes drifting to the screens around me. Soon, I find myself watching someone else's movie for way too long. No sound. Tiny screen. Far away. Creepy. But engaged.

Legalism is life focused on someone else's screen. The Spirit-led life is the one that is creative, renewing, and rich, but the legalistic life throws you into someone else's mold. Paul said that the Spirit gives a variety of gifts to people who then conduct a variety of ministries in a variety of ways (1 Cor. 12:6). But legalism produces a sameness—a mold—that destroys God's personal work in our lives. Soon, we no longer need to be led by him anymore because all we need to do is look to the legalistic code someone else created for us.

But the gospel breaks all that manmade legalism apart. Not only did the cross create the way for God and man to know one another, but it unleashed the Spirit on each believer. And the Spirit, who is God, helps us interact with God.

Last week I shared with you from John 14:16, where Jesus promised he would ask the Father to send another Helper, the Holy Spirit, to his people. Some translations render it "another Advocate" (NIV). He is like Jesus in that he is an Advocate, but the emphasis of their advocacy is different. Jesus, the first Advocate, speaks to the Father for you. But the second Advocate, the Spirit, speaks to you for the Father.

I love Formula 1 racing. During the race, the team back in the paddock is in constant radio communication with the driver, adjusting strategy and giving updates as needed. As our Advocate, the Spirit uses the Bible, sermons, other believers, prayer, and our own devotional life to give us the radio updates we need. He is in constant contact with us—not because of our works, but because of the cross of Christ—available to lead and guide our lives.

So Paul's first rhetorical question helps us remember that the gospel unleashes the Spirit.

2. The Gospel Supplies Resources To Become Complete (3:3)

Paul's second rhetorical question helps us remember that the gospel supplies the resources we need to become complete. He asked, "Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (3) Paul's first question would have helped them admit that they'd begun in the Spirit, so now Paul challenges them with how they would continue. They had become the people of God by faith in the gospel, but how would they progress as the people of God? Are you going to be perfected/completed/finished by the flesh? Are you going to become mature through human effort? Are you going to be sanctified by sheer human energy?

These are important questions. How do we make progress as Christians? Paul's thought is that it happens the same way we became Christians in the first place. We were confronted with our sin, we saw God's provision for us in the cross of his Son, we repented and believed in him and his work, and we were made complete before God. Growth happens the same way—we are confronted with our sin, we see the cross, we repent and trust him, and he makes us complete by his Spirit. He grows us—if we repeatedly turn to his cross.

For an example of our continued need to be nourished by a clear portrayal of the cross, consider human life. As babies in the womb, we needed nutrients and oxygen in order to grow. Connected to our mothers by the umbilical cord and placenta, nutrients and oxygen flowed into our little bodies. But once born, we still need nutrients and oxygen. It might look and feel different, but we have not graduated from those needs. Similarly, after we are born again, we still need to depend regularly on the gospel as our resource for growth. By his cross, we are regenerated and justified. And by his cross, we can also be renewed and sanctified.

I will hold myself out as an example for this point. Each of us battle many of the same old sins throughout our entire lives. For me, I have always battled with anger. It is a go-to emotion for me. At the beginning of my Christian life, I found myself praying that God would help me with it. I wanted him to, by his power, remove it from my life. It was a good prayer and one God has faithfully and gradually answered.

But I have found it important to go back to the cross for a clear portrayal of what happened there. In Jesus' death, I died, and I am made new in him. The more I see how he has made me complete, the less rattled I am by circumstantial events in my life. When I remember that whatever I'm tempted to be angry over would not complete me if it were different, I gain victory. But when I feel I am made complete by something other than the gospel, I become angry when that thing isn't as I hoped.

Only Jesus can complete us—and has, on his cross. In other words, we are not only saved by the gospel, but we grow by applying it to every facet of our lives. So how will you become complete? Through self-mastery and perfectionism? Through success and accomplishments? Through self-acceptance and self-esteem? All of these routes lead to a dead end. But in Christ, we have all the resources we need to become complete.

3. The Gospel Is Worth Every Sacrifice (3:4)

Paul's third rhetorical question helps us remember that the gospel is worth every sacrifice we might make because of it. Paul asked the Galatians, "Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?" (4).

Paul's question is loaded with personal backstory. He knew everything the Galatians had endured for their belief in Jesus. While with them, Paul and Barnabas had to strengthen their souls by telling them that "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). And now Paul wonders if all their suffering for the gospel was going to be in vain. If they denied the sufficiency of the cross, why had they suffered for the sufficiency of the cross? What a waste!

Here's the thing: manmade rules are not worth suffering for. You can't watch movies. You can't drink a glass of wine. You can't trick-or-treat. You can't get a tattoo. You can't have a nice car or nice clothes. You can't work out too much. A paper cut would be too much to suffer for these manmade strictures. But the gospel of Christ is worthy of every drop of blood, sweat, or tears shed for it. Throughout the centuries, billions of Christians have made sacrifices because of and for the gospel—and every sacrifice has been worth it.

When I was coming up, the straight-edge community fascinated me. It was usually comprised of young men who were into hard music and violence but not into drugs and alcohol.[^5] They were straight-edge, after all. And it attracted a lot of young guys into its club-like environment. But it didn't really last. Legalism can only attract you for so long. The gospel, however, can inspire for a lifetime (and for billions of lifetimes after that). And every sacrifice you make for it—financially, emotionally, physically—is worth it.

Some of you have sacrificed romantic relationships for the sake of the gospel. Someone pressured you to do things with them that Jesus died for on the cross, so you decided for Jesus instead of that relationship.

Some of you have sacrificed social status for the sake of the gospel. The things you had to say or do or believe in order to become socially accepted were things Jesus died for on the cross, so you decided for Jesus instead of social status.

Some of you have sacrificed financial gains for the sake of the gospel. The sins you had to commit and the corners you had to cut to gain more wealth were things Jesus died for on the cross, so you decided for Jesus instead of those financial gains.

Some of you have sacrificed your emotional safety for the sake of the gospel. To love and serve the people that Jesus died for on the cross, you had to decide between emotional risk or emotional protection, and you decided for Jesus and his work instead of your personal safety.

And all these sacrifices—and thousands more—are worth it. The gospel is that good, that valuable.

4. The Gospel Asks For Ongoing Trust (3:5)

Paul's fourth and final rhetorical question helps us remember that the gospel asks us to trust God on an ongoing basis. He asked them, "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?" (5).

This final question was meant to remind them that the Spirit's radical work among them didn't happen because of how righteous they were but by simple faith in Christ. The work of God in Galatia was not tied to their works but to their faith. And not faith that God would work miracles, but their initial and introductory faith in Christ's cross. They saw the gospel, believed it, and God began working.

Paul wanted them to continue on in faith—to trust God in an ongoing way. How does this work? How can we experience God's powerful and transformative hand by faith?

Consider sexual temptation. It is one of the most powerful forms of testing for many Christians. But scripture is clear that sexual pleasure is meant for and within the covenant of marriage (Prov 5:1-23, 1 Thess. 4:3-8). So rather than merely try not to enter into that temptation, a believer must trust God again. God, I trust you. I trust your word. I trust that you know better than I do. I trust that you love me and have my best in mind. I trust that you have better plans for me than I have for myself. I trust you. And our trust—or faith—becomes the step that releases God's power to help us overcome sexual temptation.

"Today’s church is awash in books and seminars that promise the key to the Christian life is found in three keys, five steps, or seven principles. And while there may be helpful elements of such books, they can easily give the impression that ongoing faith in Christ and walking in the power of the Spirit are insufficient. But Paul makes it clear that faith in Christ not only initiates the Christian life but is also the ongoing means by which we live the Christian life." —Matthew Harmon, Galatians[^6]

Conclusion

Believers in Jesus must repeatedly see the cross of Christ, along with all its implications. Jesus Christ must constantly be "publicly portrayed as crucified before our eyes (1). When Jesus is famous to us personally—when his sacrifice on the cross is understood and appreciated for what it is—beautiful results follow.

• When we see afresh that the gift of the Son dying on the cross led to the gift of the Spirit living within us, we will turn to him for leadership, guidance, and strength.
• When we see afresh that Jesus made us complete us on the cross, we will realize that he is constantly there for us throughout life, helping us grow.
• When we see afresh the immense value of what Jesus did for us by substituting himself for us, we will become willing to sacrifice anything to live for him.
• And when we see afresh how simple faith in the gospel released God's power in our lives, we will continue to express simple faith in him, releasing his power towards us.

But for all this, we must continually see his cross.

The week before Jesus died in Jerusalem, he passed through Jericho. A great crowd gathered, but there was a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. When he heard that it was Jesus passing by, he began to cry, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" People tried to silence him, but Jesus called for him and asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus replied, "Let me recover my sight." Jesus commended Bartimaeus for his faith, healed him, and went on his way with Bartimaeus in tow (Mk. 10:46-52).

I think Bartimaeus can be a metaphor for every believer in Jesus. When we aren't hearing a clear, continuous, and bold portrayal of Jesus Christ and him crucified, we inevitably slip into spiritual blindness, begging for scraps, turning to lesser things to solve our issues. But when we cry out afresh to Jesus, asking him to open our eyes again to him and his cross, we begin to see once more. And with our sight, he stands before us, and we are able to follow him again. So, every day, let us be a people who ask him for sight so that he and his cross will be clearly portrayed to us. Let us ask him to help us see the gospel.

[^1]: Mendes, Sam. 2019. 1917. USA: DreamWorks Pictures. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8579674/. [^2]: Tolkien, J. R. R. 2014. The Lord of the Rings. London, England: HarperCollins. [^3]: Harmon, Matthew S. 2021. Galatians: Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary. Lexham Academic. [^4]: Schreiner, Thomas R. 2010. Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [^5]: Wikipedia contributors. 2022. “Straight Edge.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. November 19, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Straight_edge&oldid=1122806898#2000s. [^6]: Harmon, Matthew S. 2021. Galatians: Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary. Lexham Academic.