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O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? 1It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly 2portrayed as crucified.
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Let me ask you only this: 3Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by 4hearing with faith?
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Are you so foolish? 5Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
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6Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?
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Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and 7works miracles among you do so 8by works of the law, or by hearing with faith--
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just as 9Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?
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Know then that it is 10those of faith who are 11the sons of Abraham.
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And the Scripture, foreseeing that 12God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 13"In you shall all the nations be blessed."
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So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
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For all who rely on works of the law are 14under a curse; for it is written, 15"Cursed be everyone who does not 16abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."
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Now it is evident that 17no one is justified before God by the law, for 18"The righteous shall live by faith."
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But the law is not of faith, rather 19"The one who does them shall live by them."
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Christ 20redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, 21"Cursed is everyone who is hanged 22on a tree"--
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so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might 23come to the Gentiles, so that 24we might receive 25the promised Spirit through faith.
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26To give a human example, brothers:27even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.
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Now 28the promises were made 29to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, 30"And to your offspring," who is Christ.
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This is what I mean: the law, which came years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as 31to make the promise void.
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For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but 32God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
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Why then the law? 33It was added because of transgressions, 34until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was 35put in place through angels 36by an intermediary.
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Now 37an intermediary implies more than one, but 38God is one.
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Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For 39if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
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But the Scripture 40imprisoned everything under sin, so that 41the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given 42to those who believe.
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Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, 43imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
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So then, 44the law was our 45guardian until Christ came, 46in order that we might be justified by faith.
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But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
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for in Christ Jesus 47you are all sons of God, through faith.
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For as many of you as 48were baptized 49into Christ have 50put on Christ.
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51There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, 52there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
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And 53if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, 54heirs according to promise.