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Galatians 3:1-5 The Hearing of Faith Table of Contents
Galatians 3:1-5 Foolish Galatians! Who has put you under a spell, not to obey the truth – before whose eyes Messiah was clearly portrayed among you as impaled? This only I wish to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of Torah, or by the hearing of belief? Are you so senseless? Having begun in the Spirit, do you now end in the flesh? Have you suffered so much in vain – if indeed in vain? Is He, then, who is supplying the Spirit to you and working miracles among you, doing it by works of Torah, or by hearing of belief? They are foolish who do not walk in the truth of Torah. Yirmyahu 4:22 Yahuwah answered, "This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good." The Galatians are said to be foolish because they have strayed away from the teachings of the written Torah. The reason that the Northern kingdom was taken away into captivity was because they rebelled against Yahuwah and his Covenant. Thus they were "Galatians" (meaning: "exiles") on account of their rebellion against Torah. So, Paul calls them "foolish" to remind them that they are repeating the same mistake that caused them to be exiles in the first place. They are listening to the "false brothers" and submitting to the authority of the Pharisees and their Oral Tradition, instead of obeying the written Torah (commandments) of Yahuwah their Maker. The truth that they need to obey is the Torah. Torah is Our Wisdom Devarim 4:5 Look! I have taught you rules and right-rulings just as Yahuwah my Elohim told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the midst of the land you are about to enter and possess. 6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding to the people who will learn of all these rules and say, "Indeed, this great nation is a very wise people." Wisdom v. Foolishness Mishlei 1:7 Fearing Yahuwah is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in disclosing what is on his mind.
Works of Torah v. Faithfulness 2 This only I wish to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of Torah, or by the hearing of belief? 3 Are you so senseless? Having begun in the Spirit, do you now end in the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so much in vain – if indeed in vain? 5 Is He, then, who is supplying the Spirit to you and working miracles among you, doing it by works of Torah, or by hearing of belief?
“Works” hv[m or myv[m “ma-aseh” or pl. “ma-asim” Action, deed, work; precedent(!) The action of a Rabbi or sage that justified the practical manner in which a tradition should be observed. A source for Rabbinic law. Thus, laws are made based on the actions or “works” of a rabbi
Nechemiah Gordon: The concept of ma’asim is unique to Pharisaic Judaism and it is not surprising that the Greek translator of Matthew had no idea of what it was referring to so he translated it literally as erga (works). But Yeshua was talking about the ma’asim of the Pharisees which is something very specific. When a Pharisee does not know the law in a particular situation he looks for a precedent of one of his teachers. If a teacher did a certain act it must be what the Oral Law requires. Mattityahu 23 2 …The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Mosheh. 3 Now all that He tells you, keep and do. But their ma’asim (works) do not do; for they say and do not do. Sit on the seat of Mosheh = They position themselves in the place of authority. Do what Mosheh wrote, but don’t do the Pharisaic Oral traditions. Yahusha' is instructing his followers to obey Mosheh, but not to do what the Pharisees command them to do. “Works of Torah” The “works of Torah” are those precedents set by rabbis and sages which convert an action, work or practice into Law. When the Oral Torah is unclear about a matter, one may default to the precedent laid down by a rabbi, to guide you in your experience. Faith and Law are taught by most Christian churches to be mutually incompatible! Dispensationalism teaches that our Maker dealt with our forefathers (Israel) with a different standard – a harsher one – than with us. But now, because of his “grace” and forgiveness, he no longer requires of us to meet the standard of his instructions. How are “faith” and “law” compatible in the Scriptures? Scriptural Faith – What is It? !m;a' (aman) to confirm, support, uphold (Qal); to be established, be faithful (Niphal); to be certain, i.e. to believe in (Hiphil). hn"Wma/ (emûnâ) firmness, fidelity, steadiness, steadfastness, trust, loyalty. !mea' (amein) verily, truly, amen "Aman" in the Scriptures Shemot 4:1,5,8,8,9, 31 "aman" (faith) is grammatically parallel with "hearing his voice" True Scriptural faith is manifest in obedience to the voice of the one in whom the "faith" is placed. Shemot 19:9 Bemidbar 12:7; 14:11; 20:12 Devarim 1:32; 9:23 “To believe in” = “be loyal to,” “support,” “be faithful to.” “To believe” does not mean to merely “know something to be true.” It means “to be convinced and committed to…” Devarim 7: Faith=Loyalty 9 So realize that Yahuwah your Elohim is The Elohim, the faithful (aman) El who keeps the covenant and the kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 but who pays back those who hate him as they deserve and destroys them. He will not ignore those who hate him but will repay them as they deserve. 11 So keep the commandments, rules, and right-rulings that I today am commanding you to do. 12 And when you obey (shema) these right-rulings and are careful to do them, Yahuwah your Elohim will keep the covenant and the kindness with you as he promised your fathers. Avraham’s “Belief” Beresheit 15:5 He took him outside and said, "Peer into the sky and count the stars--if you are able to count them!" Then he said to him, "So will your descendants be." 6 Avram believed (Heb. “aman”) Yahuwah, and He counted it for righteousness. Avram confirmed (agreed with) Yahuwah, and he counted that for righteousness bv;x' bv;x' “khashav” vb. think, account - be accounted, thought, esteemed, be computed, reckoned, count, reckon “Avraham was faithful to Yahuwah, and Yahuwah thought Avraham’s faithfulness for righteousness!” In Yah’s mind, Avraham’s agreement with Yah was considered as righteousness. So, then… what does Yah count as righteousness? Fidelity (agreement) to Yahuwah’s ways = “righteousness.” Galatians 3 2 This only I wish to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of Torah, or by the hearing of belief? Retranslated: Did you receive the Spirit by works of Oral Torah or by loyal obedience (to the written Scriptures)? 3 Are you so senseless? Having begun in the Spirit, do you now end in the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so much in vain – if indeed in vain? 5 Is He, then, who is supplying the Spirit to you and working miracles among you, doing it by works of Torah, or by hearing of belief (obedience of faithfulness to his covenant)? How does Yah work in us – through our man-made traditions, or through our obedience to his word? “Hearing of Belief” “Hearing” comes from the Hebrew “shema” which means “hear, listen, obey.” It recalls a well known greatest command. “Belief” comes from the Hebrew “emunah” which means “faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty” as in a proper marital relationship. Thus, “hearing of belief” does not mean “you can be saved by merely believing what you hear to be true” because “the devil believes and trembles” It means “obedience which corresponds with faithfulness to Yah’s covenant” or “obedience of fidelity” or “obedience of loyalty” “Hearing” comes from the Hebrew “shema” which means “hear, listen, obey” It recalls the well known greatest command of Devarim 6:4. “Belief” comes from the Hebrew “emunah” which means “faithfulness, fidelity” as in a proper marital relationship. Thus, “hearing of belief” does not mean “you can be saved by simply believing what you hear” because “the devil believes and trembles.” It means “obedience which corresponds to faithfulness to Yah’s covenant” or “obedience of fidelity.” 2 This only I wish to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of torah, or by the hearing of belief? My translation: Did you receive the Spirit by works of Oral Torah or by the Obedience of Fidelity (to the written Scriptures)? 3 Are you so senseless? Having begun in the Spirit, do you now end in the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so much in vain – if indeed in vain? 5 Is He, then, who is supplying the Spirit to you and working miracles among you, doing it by works of Torah, or by hearing of belief (obedience of faithfulness to his covenant)? How does Yah work in us to bring us to perfection? – through our man-made traditions, or through our obedience to his Word? Clearly Sha'ul is saying that it's Yah's Word - the Torah and the Prophets - that brings us to a full understanding of his plan for us.
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