Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? (Galatians 3:5)
The Galatians had witnessed miracles. They experienced the power of God in ways that transcended natural possibilities. Paul pointed out that these miracles occurred not because they observed the law, but because they believed the message of the gospel. It was their faith in what they heard that brought them into contact with the power of God.
Paul emphasized to them that miracles came from faith. His original contrast was with the law, because it was what diverted the Galatians from faith. However, we can apply the principle more widely, because it is not as if there are other things that can legitimately take us away from faith. Faith is the constant. What he said applies against anything else that would lead us away from faith.
Faith is essential. Faith is the way of salvation. Paul illustrated this by pointing out that faith is also the way to miracles. Faith comes from the gospel, the word of God. Paul said that faith comes from hearing the message about Jesus Christ. And then he said that when a person believes the gospel, miracles happen.
The false teaching that miracles happened only because of the apostles and prophets is a direct rejection of this principle of faith. Just as those who attacked faith with their insistence on the law were heretics, those who attack faith with any other emphasis are also heretics. Just as these heretics in the past preached a different gospel, which was no gospel at all, these other heretics also preach a different gospel. The Bible is clear that miracles do not depend on special gifts and ministries, but on faith in the gospel.
When Paul preached to the Galatians, he preached Christ crucified and risen, and the people responded with faith. It was this faith that opened the door for the Spirit of God to work in their lives. They believed what they heard, and as a result, they experienced miracles. The power of God was manifest among them because they had genuine faith in the message of the gospel. The Spirit was given, and miracles were performed, not because of who Paul was, but because the Galatians believed what they heard. Notice Paul’s emphasis: it was not that they believed because of the miracles, but that the miracles happened because they believed.
The Faithless wish to attribute miracles to the apostles, to special gifts, or to special times like the first century. They think that miracles happened only because of the authority of the apostles or because God was doing something special in that period. But Paul contradicted this idea. Miracles happen because of faith, regardless of apostleship, gifts, or periods. The power of God is not restricted to a specific time or a specific group of people. It is available to anyone who believes the gospel. The same faith that worked miracles among the Galatians will work miracles today. It is not about the person; it is about the message and the faith that responds to it.
Jesus himself emphasized this over and over again. In the context of miracles, he said, “All things are possible for one who believes.” And he often said, “Your faith has healed you.” When people believed what they heard about Jesus, they experienced miracles. The gospel has not changed, and God has not changed. If there are no miracles, there are two possible reasons. Either we are not preaching the gospel, or we are not believing the gospel. If we do not preach this gospel that brings miracles, people will not believe a gospel that brings miracles, and if they do not believe a gospel that brings miracles, they will not experience the miracles. But the only gospel is a gospel that promises salvation and miracles to everyone who believes.
Many churches preach a different gospel. Some turn it into a message of moral improvement or political activism. Others, when they speak of miracles, refer to them only as historical events and make only symbolic applications. This is not the gospel. The gospel is the message of Christ crucified and risen, the message of reconciliation with God, and the message of his kingdom breaking into this world with miracle power. It is about the work of God throughout history, culminating in the coming of Christ, with increasing saving and healing effects in the present. If we do not preach this message, we cannot expect people to believe, and if they do not believe, we cannot expect to see the power of God at work. This is why many churches are weak, sick, and dead. They have withered from the roots, as if Jesus has cursed them, saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!”
Paul also emphasized that the Holy Spirit was given to the believers because of their faith, not because of their works under the law. The fact that he used this to prove his point demonstrates that receiving the Spirit is different from receiving Christ for salvation or justification. Paul’s argument was that they received the Spirit by faith, not by works of the law, which proved that salvation itself was received by faith, not by keeping the law. He used the fact that they received the Spirit by faith to show that salvation comes through faith in Christ. If he had thought that receiving the Spirit was the same as receiving Christ for salvation, his argument would have been circular. If he was not making a circular argument, it must mean that receiving the Spirit is different from receiving Christ.
Consider Paul’s argument again. He also stated that the Galatians received miracles because of their faith, not because of the law. It is obvious that miracles and Christ, and miracles and salvation, were different things. They were not synonymous terms, or different ways of referring to the same experience. If receiving miracles were the same as receiving Christ for salvation, if these were simply different terms for the same experience, then Paul would be arguing in a circle. He would essentially be saying, “You receive salvation by faith and not by the law, because you receive salvation by faith and not by the law.” Instead, Paul argued, “You receive salvation by faith and not by the law, and this is demonstrated by the fact that you received miracles by faith and not by the law.”
Paul referred to receiving the Spirit in the same way as receiving miracles, using both as evidence that salvation comes by faith and not by the law. You can receive Christ by faith without receiving a healing miracle, but you can receive a healing miracle in addition to receiving Christ. And you can also receive the Holy Spirit as something different from and in addition to receiving Christ. This means that receiving the Spirit is distinct from receiving Christ for salvation, just as receiving miracles like healings and prophecies is different from receiving Christ for salvation. These experiences could be used as evidence of how salvation was received. Receiving salvation by faith was not used as evidence of itself, but receiving other things by faith, such as the Spirit and miracles, was used as evidence that everything from God is received by faith and not by the law.
This refutes the moronic and heretical teaching that Paul assumed we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit when we receive Jesus Christ for salvation. In fact, he made arguments to defend justification by faith itself on the basis that receiving the Holy Spirit and receiving Jesus Christ were different things. This particular argument he offered for justification by faith depended on the common knowledge that receiving the Spirit and receive Christ were two separate experiences. Since we receive the Spirit and miracles by faith, we know that we receive salvation and justification by faith, because this is how we receive all the blessings and promises of God — by grace, through faith.
Paul’s argument presents a terminal challenge: one must either condemn the passage as circular and fallacious, thus rejecting the inspiration of Scripture and renouncing the very basis of the gospel, thereby forfeiting faith in Christ and his salvation, or he must admit that receiving the Holy Spirit is a distinct and separate experience from conversion, regeneration, and receiving Jesus Christ for salvation and justification.
Just as we receive miracles by believing the gospel, we also receive this baptism of the Holy Spirit by believing the gospel, regardless of whether there are apostles or special gifts, and regardless of which century we live in. Jesus said that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. This is the power to preach as though we are from another world, the power to heal the sick and cast out demons, and the power to enter into other supernatural experiences like visions, dreams, tongues, and prophecies. All these things begin when we preach the true gospel, and when we believe it.