Galatians 3:26 - Sons Through Faith in Christ

You are all sons of God
This phrase emphasizes the inclusive nature of the Gospel, highlighting that all believers, regardless of their ethnic or social background, are considered children of God. In the context of Galatians, Paul addresses a community struggling with the Judaizers' insistence on adherence to the Mosaic Law for salvation. By stating "sons of God," Paul underscores the new identity believers have in Christ, transcending the old covenant's limitations. This concept is rooted in the promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his seed (Genesis 12:3), and it echoes the idea of adoption found in Romans 8:15-17, where believers are described as receiving the Spirit of sonship.

through faith
Faith is the key mechanism by which believers become children of God. This faith is not merely intellectual assent but a deep trust and reliance on the finished work of Christ. The emphasis on faith contrasts with the works of the Law, which some in Galatia were tempted to rely on for justification. This aligns with Ephesians 2:8-9, which states that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works. The historical context of the early church shows a transition from the Law to grace, a shift that was often met with resistance from those who were steeped in Jewish tradition.

in Christ Jesus
The phrase "in Christ Jesus" signifies the believer's union with Christ, a central theme in Pauline theology. This union is the basis for the believer's new identity and status as a child of God. It reflects the transformative power of the Gospel, where believers are not only forgiven but also incorporated into the body of Christ. This concept is further elaborated in 2 Corinthians 5:17, where Paul states that anyone in Christ is a new creation. The historical and cultural context of the first-century Greco-Roman world, with its emphasis on identity and status, makes this transformation particularly radical and profound.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Paul the Apostle
The author of the letter to the Galatians, addressing the churches in the region of Galatia. He is emphasizing the doctrine of justification by faith.

2. Galatians
The recipients of the letter, a group of early Christian communities in the region of Galatia, who were struggling with the influence of Judaizers advocating adherence to the Mosaic Law.

3. Christ Jesus
Central figure in Christianity, whose life, death, and resurrection are the foundation of the Christian faith. Paul emphasizes faith in Christ as the means of becoming children of God.

Teaching Points

Faith as the Foundation
Emphasize that becoming a child of God is not based on ethnic background, adherence to the law, or personal merit, but solely through faith in Christ Jesus.

Unity in Christ
Highlight that all believers, regardless of their background, are united as children of God, promoting a sense of unity and equality within the body of Christ.

Identity in Christ
Encourage believers to find their primary identity in being children of God, which transcends all other identities and affiliations.

Assurance of Salvation
Reinforce the assurance that comes from being a child of God through faith, providing comfort and confidence in one's salvation.

Living as Children of God
Challenge believers to live in a manner worthy of their identity as children of God, reflecting Christ in their actions and relationships.

(26) Children of God.--The translation "children" here is unfortunate, as the point to be brought out is that the Christian is no longer in the condition of "children," but in that of grown-up "sons." The pre-Messianic period bears to the Messianic period the same relation that a childhood or minority bears to full age. The Christian, as such, has the privileges of an adult son in his Father's house. He is released from pupilage, and has received his freedom.

Verse 26. - For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus (πάντες γὰρ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ ἐστὲ διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν Ξριστῷ Ἰησοῦ) for sons of God are ye all through faith in Christ Jesus. "For;" that is, what is just affirmed (ver. 25) is true, because ye are "sons" and no longer "children." "Ye are;" in ver. 25 it is "we are." The whole course of the argument, however, shows that the persons recited by each of the personal pronouns are in effect the same, namely, the people of God; otherwise this verse would not furnish proof, as by the "for" it professes to do, of the statement of ver. 25. The change from "we" to "ye" has by some been explained as due to the writer's wish to preclude the supposition that the "we' in ver. 25 applied to Jewish believers only. A more satisfactory explanation is that he wishes to give the statement in vers. 22-25, which is general, a more trenchant force as applying to those whose spiritual difficulties he is now dealing with. In 1 Thessalonians 5:5, "Ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness," we have the converse transition. There likewise the persons recited are in effect the same; and the change of person in the pronoun, making the discourse, from exhortation addressed to others, pass into a form of cohortation applying to all Christians alike, including the writer himself, is dictated by the apostle's sympathetic kindness for especially his Thessalonian converts. "Ye are." The fact that faith is the sole and sufficient ground of qualification eliminates all those distinctions by which the Law has heretofore fenced off Gentiles, pronouncing them "separated as aliens," "strangers to the covenants," and "without God" (cf. Ephesians 2:12). In the sequel (ver. 28) the apostle passes on from the thought of this particular outward distinction of Jew and Gentile to the thought of all other purely external distinctions. "In Christ Jesus." It is debated whether this clause should be connected with "faith," as if it were πίστεως τῆς ἐν Ξριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, the article being omitted, as in Colossians 1:4; Ephesians 1:15, and often; or with the words, "ye are sons of God," with a comma following the word "faith." Both modes of construing find in the sentence at last the same contents of thought; for each of the two propositions thus severally formed contains by implication the other. It probably suits the connection best to take the apostle as at once affirming that it is in Christ Jesus that we are God's sons through faith, rather than as leaving this to be inferred from the fact of our being sons through faith in Christ. "In Christ" is, with St. Paul, a very favourite form of indicating the channel through which the great blessings of the gospel are realized (cf. Ephesians 1:3, 6, 7, 11; Ephesians 2:6, 7, 10, 13, 21, 22; Ephesians 3:12, etc.). "Sons of God." It is quite clear that the term "sons" (υἱοὶ) denotes those who have come into the full enjoyment, so far as the present life is concerned, of the position Which their birth had entitled them to; and that it stands in contrast with their earlier position when children in years under a paedagogus. The noun υἱός, son, itself, however, while it is never used as synonymous with νήπιος to describe one as a child in years, yet, like τέκνον, child, does not ordinarily betoken more than simple relationship as the correlative with "father;" for which reason υἱός (as well as τέκνον) is used in such phrases as "children of disobedience," "of Israel," of light," "of the day," "of the devil," "of perdition." In Hebrews 12:6-8 υἱὸς is applied in the case of one who is as yet under the discipline of the rod; but even there υἱὸς of itself immediately designates his filial relation only. St. Paul never uses the word παῖς at all, though he has παιδία in 1 Corinthians 14:20 for children in years, in place of the word νήπιος which he ordinarily employs (Romans 2:20; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 1 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:14; Hebrews 5:13), and which we find presently after in vers. I and 3 of the next chapter. The particular modification of meaning in which the apostle here uses the term is justified by the consideration which he presently puts forward, that a son of even an opulent or high-born parent, while a mere child, possesses no more freedom than if he were the child of any other person; his heirship or distinction of birth is for so long more or less veiled; it is not until he passes out of his nonage that he appears in his proper character. Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

You are
ἐστε (este)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

all
Πάντες (Pantes)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

sons
υἱοὶ (huioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

of God
Θεοῦ (Theou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

through
διὰ (dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

faith
πίστεως (pisteōs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

Christ
Χριστῷ (Christō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5547: Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.

Jesus.
Ἰησοῦ (Iēsou)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

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