“He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
The full verse · Galatians 3:5 · KJV
He that to the , , doeth he it the of the , the of ?
Asked to
Galatians: the members of the churches of Galatia, who had received the gospel from Paul but were now listening to teachers who would "pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:7)
The Scene
Paul is still questioning the Galatians, who had received the Spirit when the gospel was preached to them but were now being drawn toward the works of the law (Galatians 3:1-4).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul points the Galatians to what they had seen with their own eyes. The Spirit had been given to them and miracles had been worked among them. So where did that come from: from keeping the law, or from hearing the gospel and believing it? Barnes says this repeats the argument of Galatians 3:2, that the Spirit was not given because they kept the Law of Moses. Gill instead calls it a distinct argument from Galatians 3:2, a further proof drawn from the miracles still worked among them.
The question also asks who "he" is. Barnes writes, "The obvious reference, it seems to me, is to God." Gill agrees that it means not Paul or any preacher, "in whose power it does not lie to minister the Spirit," but God or Christ. Paul wants them to see that the One still giving them the Spirit is working through faith, not through the law.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe answer is so plain that Paul does not stop to state it. He moves straight to Abraham: "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Galatians 3:6). His conclusion follows: "they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham" (Galatians 3:9), so that "we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe verb "ministereth" is the Greek epichorēgeō, which Thayer defines as to supply or furnish. Its present form here pictures God as still supplying the Spirit, not only at the start. "Miracles" is dynameis, works of power. Gill prefers to take the Spirit ministered here as the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit that were shown when the gospel was first preached to them, "for the confirmation of it," and which were still among them. The phrase "hearing of faith" (Greek akoēs pisteōs) contrasts simply hearing and believing the message with working to earn something by the law.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question puts God at the center. The Spirit is His gift and the miracles are His work. Nothing the Galatians did under the law produced them. Matthew Henry frames it as a question the Galatians could test against their own experience: had they received the Spirit by the ministration of the law, or by hearing and embracing the doctrine of faith in Christ alone?
Paul's whole argument in Galatians 3 rests on this. God gave the Spirit in response to faith, just as He counted Abraham righteous because Abraham "believed God" (Galatians 3:6). The way God began with them is the way He continues with them (Galatians 3:3).
Look Closer
In Galatians 3:5, who is the "he" that ministers the Spirit?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, where have I seen You at work in my life simply because I trusted You, and what are You still supplying today?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why do you think it is easy to believe God started the work by grace but now expects you to keep it going by effort?
- Tell about a time you saw God work in a way you clearly did not earn.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
God is still the One supplying His Spirit to you. You did not earn His presence at the beginning, and you do not keep it by performance now. Your part is to keep hearing and believing what He has said.
This does not make obedience unimportant. Later in the letter Paul calls believers to "Walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16). But that walk flows from the Spirit God gives through faith, not from trying to earn Him by law-keeping.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?”
“Have ye suffered so many things in vain?”
“Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”