Abraham’s Descendants

[전승훈2]

Summary:
Paul sharply rebukes the Galatians for acting foolishly, as if they had come under a deceptive influence, even though Jesus Christ had been publicly portrayed to them as crucified. He presses them with a pointed question: did they receive the Spirit by doing what the Law requires, or by hearing with faith? He challenges their inconsistency—having begun by the Spirit, are they now trying to reach completion by human effort? He asks whether they endured so much for nothing, if it truly was for nothing.

Paul then continues the interrogation: does God supply the Spirit and work miracles among them because they observe the Law, or because they hear with faith? To anchor his point, he cites Abraham: Abraham believed God, and that faith was credited to him as righteousness. From this, Paul draws his conclusion - those who are of faith are the true sons of Abraham.
 
Teaching:
To be Abraham’s descendants means to be people who live by faith. Calling people “Abraham’s descendants” in this way is about the most shocking thing Paul could say.

For the Jews, whether someone is truly Jewish is bound up with whether that person is a descendant of Abraham. Being Abraham’s descendants is what defines them: they practice circumcision, they keep the Law delivered through Moses, and they long for the Messiah as foretold by the prophets. If you gather all of these together under one heading – faith - then what you are really describing is Abraham’s faith.

Those who go through the story of faith that Abraham went through - those who live that kind of faith - are Abraham’s descendants.

Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Feb 24, 2026
Galatians 3:1-7