Grace in Galatians (Part 132): How Faith Actually Works

https://youtu.be/7RvtDXskaDw

Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

Key scriptures for this year:

(2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT)

"Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do."

(Galatians 5:4 TPT)

"If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!"

(Romans 6:14 ERV)

"Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God's grace."

(1 Corinthians 15:10 CEV)

"But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's grace at work and not me."

Scripture we will study today:

(Galatians 5:5-6 TPT)

“But we have the true hope that comes from being made right with God, and by the Spirit we wait eagerly for this hope. When you’re placed into the Anointed One and joined to him, circumcision and religious obligations can benefit you nothing. All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love.”

(Galatians 5:5-6 NKJV)

“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”

Supporting scriptures:

(1 John 4:16 NKJV)

“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

(1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NKJV)

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

(Ephesians 3:17 NKJV)

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love…”

Setting the Stage:

Yesterday, we faced a hard truth: trusting in your own performance makes Jesus irrelevant to you. Paul used strong language with the Galatians because they were trading the power of the Gospel for the weakness of human effort. He told them that if they sought to be justified by the Law, they had “fallen from grace.”

Today, Paul pivots from what doesn’t work to what DOES work. He explains that while the religious people are working hard in their flesh to earn righteousness, we are believers who live by faith, resting in God’s grace. We are not working to BECOME righteous; we are resting in the fact that we ARE righteous, by faith in what Jesus did.

Then, Paul drops one of the most powerful spiritual nuggets in the entire New Testament. In verse 6, he summarizes the entire Christian walk. He basically says, “Look, being circumcised doesn’t matter. Being uncircumcised doesn’t matter. Religious rules don’t matter. The only thing that matters is FAITH which works by LOVE.” This is the secret sauce. This is the mechanism of the Kingdom. If you want to know how to live a life of power, you must understand the relationship between faith and love!

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. We Rest by the Spirit, We Don’t Work in the Flesh.

Paul contrasts two groups of people. The legalists are “working” to attain righteousness through the Law. But Paul says, “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Notice the difference? One group is striving; the other is waiting. One group is relying on self-effort; the other is relying on the Holy Spirit.

How this applies to you:

— The “hope of righteousness” does not mean we hope we will be righteous one day. In the New Testament, hope is a confident expectation. We know we are righteous right now by faith, and we eagerly anticipate the full manifestation of that righteousness when Jesus returns!

— While the religious person is exhausted from trying to keep all the rules, the believer who has faith in God’s grace has entered into God’s rest. We are not anxious about our standing with God because it is settled in Christ. Who I am in Christ is settled. My position in the Kingdom is settled. Whether or not I am going to heaven is settled. Even my assignment in the Kingdom, which was settled before the world began. My job now is to believe what God believes about me and to pursue whatever He reveals about the future He has planned. That is the life of faith, I do it resting in God’s grace, and I do it with peace because I know God loves me. My faith works by love!

— Paul emphasizes that this happens “through the Spirit.” You cannot live the Christian life in your own strength. It is the Holy Spirit who cries out “Abba, Father” in your heart, assuring you that you belong to God. Our hope is supernaturally empowered! God pours His love out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and it gives us a hope that does not disappoint (see Romans 5:5).

— If you are constantly worried about whether you are “good enough” for God, you are not living “through the Spirit.” The Spirit testifies of Jesus’ finished work, not your unfinished works.

— Waiting on God is an act of faith. It’s not a passive, lazy waiting. It is an active, confident expectation that God will do what He said He would do.

— Stop trying to force God’s hand with your performance. That is flesh! Learn to yield to the Spirit and walk in the rhythm of grace.

— When you stop working to be righteous, you are finally free to receive the gift of righteousness that comes by faith, and you will live with an eternal hope (a confident expectation of good).

2. External Rituals Have No Power in the Kingdom.

Paul says clearly: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything.” This would have been a shock to the Jewish believers of Paul’s day. For centuries, circumcision was the sign of the covenant. It was the “proof” that you were right with God. But Paul says, “In Christ, that proof is worthless” because it concerns the flesh, not the Spirit.

How this applies to you:

— We don’t struggle with physical circumcision today, but we struggle with other “religious badges of honor.” We think, “In Christ Jesus, perfect church attendance avails much,” or “In Christ Jesus, dressing a certain way avails much.” NO! Not really.

— Paul is saying that external things do not impress God. You can be baptized, confirmed, sanctified, and glorified in the eyes of your denomination, but if you don’t have faith, none of that matters in God’s Kingdom.

— The word “avails” means to have force, power, or value. Religious rituals have no spiritual power to change your heart or move God’s hand.

— You can have a “form of godliness” but deny the power thereof. The power is not in the ritual; the power is in the relationship.

— God is looking at your heart, not your religious resume. He doesn’t care about your title, your tenure, or your tradition. He cares about your faith. God wants to know that you have accepted His Son as your Lord in your heart by faith. He wants to know that you are filled with His Spirit and that you believe what His Spirit is revealing to you, even when you have no sense realm evidence to support it. All of this has to do with believing and receiving in your heart, not what you can perform in the flesh.

— Stop polishing the outside of the cup while the inside is empty. Grace transforms you from the inside out.

— Your power and authority do not come from your religious resume or pedigree; it is your faith in Jesus that matters. Paul is explaining to us that all that matters now is faith, and faith works by love.

3. Don’t Turn “Faith Working by Love” Into a New Law!

This is where many Christians get confused. They read, “Faith works by love,” and they immediately think, “Oh, I have to love my neighbor perfectly, or my faith won’t work.” They turn it into a performance! If you think your faith depends on your ability to love others perfectly, you have just put yourself back under the Law! No, the “love” that energizes your faith is not your love for others; it is your confidence in God’s love for YOU!

How this applies to you:

— Under the Law, everything depended on your performance. Under Grace, everything depends on your position in Christ and your confidence in His love.

— If your faith only worked when you loved people perfectly, then your faith would never work because you are human and you are flawed!

— If Paul were saying that your faith is only going to work when your love works, and when you love other people perfectly, and when you love God perfectly, then he would actually be going against everything he just taught in this book up until this point.

— The “energy” or “fuel” for faith is not your effort to love; it is your revelation of being loved. When you know God loves you, you open your heart to believe what He believes about you!

— Think about a child. A child doesn’t trust their parents because the child is so good at loving. The child trusts their parents because they are convinced the parents love them! It is the same with God.

— Galatians 5 is about freedom! Paul isn’t giving you a new commandment to keep. He is giving you a new source to tap into. Your faith will be strong when you learn to rest in God’s love.

— When you are secure in God’s love for you, your faith is automatically energized. You don’t have to “work” it up; you simply rest in His love and His plans for your life.

— When you rest in God’s love, you have a confident expectation that God will do what He said He will do. Not because you are good, but because He is good. That’s how faith works by love!

4. It’s Not Just Your Love for Others; It’s Believing God’s Love for YOU!

This is the revelation that changed my life. When Paul says “faith works by love,” we often immediately think about us loving our neighbor. That is true and necessary. However, the root of your faith is your confidence in God’s love for YOU.

How this applies to you:

— 1 John 4:16 says, “We have known and believed the love that God has for us.” Do you believe God loves you?

— Faith is simply a response to God’s love. If you are convinced that God loves you unconditionally, then you will have no trouble trusting Him.

— Why do I trust God to protect me? Because He loves me! Why do I trust God to provide for me? Because He loves me! My faith is activated by the revelation of His love for me.

— When you doubt God’s willingness to bless you, it is usually because you doubt His love. You think He is mad at you or that you haven’t performed well enough. But when you know He loves you by GRACE, your faith becomes strong!

— You love others because He first loved you. You have faith in Him because He first loved you. It all starts with His love.

— If you are struggling to have faith for a breakthrough, stop trying to “pump up” your faith and start meditating on God’s love.

— When you get a revelation of how much your Heavenly Father loves you, your faith will be unshakable, because God’s love is unconditional!

That's enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that I am no longer trying to earn righteousness through the flesh!

I declare that external rituals and religious performance avail nothing in my life.

My life is governed by one major spiritual law: Faith that works by Love!

I refuse to turn this into a new law; I know that the power of my faith comes from Your love for me, not my perfection towards You or others.

My faith is strong because I am convinced that You love me unconditionally, unceasingly, and unfailingly.

I do not trust in my performance; I trust in Your character and Your goodness.

Because I know You love me, I trust You to protect, provide for, and promote me.

I am rooted and grounded in Your love, and that love fuels my faith every single day.

I am living the Grace Life, my faith is fueled by Your love, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus' name. Amen!

This is Today's Word. Apply it and prosper!