Galatians 3:2

Galatians 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
• New International Version (NIV)I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
• New King James Version (NKJV)This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Context of Galatians 3:2

1Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

Galatians 3:2 word by word

τοῦτο μόνον θέλω μαθεῖν ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν· ἐξ ἔργων νόμου τὸ πνεῦμα ἐλάβετε ἢ ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• onlyμόνονmonon · onlyG3440
• wouldθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• I learnμανθάνωmanthanō · to learnG3129
• ofἀπόapo · away fromG575
• youσύsu · youG4771
• Received yeλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
• the Spiritὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• byἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• the worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• of the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• orἤē · orG2228
• the hearingἀκοήakoē · hearingG189
• of faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102

Cross-references for Galatians 3:2

• Galatians 3:5I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
• Acts 2:38Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 8:15As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 10:44Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.
• Acts 11:15“As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning.
• Acts 15:8God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.
• Acts 19:2“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:7A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
• 2 Corinthians 11:4You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
• Ephesians 1:13And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
• Hebrews 2:4And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.
• Hebrews 6:4For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,
• 1 Peter 1:12They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
• Romans 1:17This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
• Romans 10:16But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

Commentaries on Galatians 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law - This may refer to the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, which were very common in the apostolic Church. Did ye receive these extraordinary gifts in consequence of your circumcision, and observing the Mosaic precepts? or was it by the hearing of the Gospel, prescribing faith in Christ crucified? It may also refer to the spirit of adoption, and consequently to their sonship.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2This only would I learn of you - I would ask this of you; retaining still the language of severe reproof. The design here, and in the following verses, is, to prove to them that the views which they had at first embraced were correct, and that the views which they now cherished were false To show them this, he asks them the simple question, by what means they had obtained the exalted privileges which they enjoyed? Whether they had obtained them by the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2The Galatians, like all Christians, received the Spirit by faith in Christ, not by obeying the law of Moses (see Acts 2:38–39; Romans 8:9–11; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:11–14; compare Acts 10:44–48; 11:15–18). God accepted the Galatians because they believed the good news about Jesus (compare Romans 10:14–17). This made their return to the law unreasonable (Galatians 3:3–4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. "Was it by the works of the law that ye received the Spirit (manifested by outward miracles, Ga 3:5; Mr 16:17; He 2:4; and by spiritual graces, Ga 3:14; Ga 4:5, 6; Ep 1:13), or by the hearing of faith?" The "only" implies, "I desire, omitting other arguments, to rest the question on this alone"; I who was your teacher, desire now to "learn" this one thing from you. The epithet "Holy" is not prefixed to "Spirit" because that epithet is a joyous one…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 3:2

• Faith
• Holy Spirit
• Salvation
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Conclude
• Curse
• Eye
• Flesh
• Foolish
• Redeem
• Schoolmaster
• Shut
• Accommodation
• Galatians, Epistle to the

Commentaries on Galatians 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings