Chapter
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Verse

Galatians 3:14

ESV so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
NIV He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
NASB in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
CSB The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.
NLT Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
KJV That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
NKJV that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

What does Galatians 3:14 mean?

Paul concludes the breathtaking truth he began in the previous verse. He has shown that to rely on the law to save us, to make us right before God, is to live under a curse (Galatians 3:10–13). To break any part of the law results in being cursed by God, and separated from Him. In that way, the law reveals our sin but does not lead to our salvation. And it was never intended to lead to salvation. Rather, God had an ultimate solution in mind, when the time was right.

At that critical moment, Christ stepped in. He brought us out of this curse we were under by simple substitution. He became the curse Himself. He paid our way to freedom at the price of His own sinless life and separation from God.

Why did Jesus do this? What did He gain? Paul answers in this verse. First, His death in our place is how Gentiles (non-Jewish people) can be included in the family of God. The patriarch becomes "Father Abraham" to all who trust in Christ, descended by birth or not. Even Gentiles receive the blessings promised to Abraham's family.

Second, being freed from the curse revealed by the law allows all who trust in Christ's death in their place, for their sin, to receive the Holy Spirit. Paul calls Him the "promised Spirit," possibly referring to Jesus' promise in Acts 1:8.

Once more, Paul emphasizes that this is possible only "by faith." Gentiles cannot become Abraham's children or receive God's Spirit by following the works of the law. We had to be freed from the curse of the law in order for this to become possible in the first place.
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