Galatians 3:6-9 – Abraham: A Star Witness

Most of us have seen trials, whether on TV or in real life. There are an abundance of true crime shows and documentaries these days. In most cases, a crime has been committed and the person suspected of the crime is charged and must stand trial. There are prosecutors trying to prove the guilt of the person being charged and defense attorneys trying to prove the innocence of that same person. One of the primary tools of both the prosecution and the defense is calling witnesses. If you’ve ever followed one of these types of trials, you know that when either side has a witness that they think is a slam dunk for their case, that person is called a star witness. A star witness has valuable information related to the case and the attorney calls them because they think their testimony will have a great impact on the judge and/or jury in their favor.

Paul does the same here in Galatians 3:6-9 as he continues to build his case/argument for justification by faith alone, he “calls” in a star witness. Paul is taking the Galatians and us back in history to see if indeed God has always based the salvation of His people on faith alone.

Paul wisely and intentionally goes back to the OT and references this “star witness” who is one of the major figures in Jewish history. Paul is doing this because the Galatians, just like us, continue to have trouble relying on faith alone as the sole ground for justification. [FCF] And one way this happens is we struggle to remember Scripture’s testimony of how God justified His people throughout redemptive history.

In these verses, Paul shows that throughout redemptive history, God has saved sinners through faith alone. From the beginning, after the Fall of man in the garden, God has saved his people based on faith alone apart from works.

This includes Paul’s star witness. The witness Paul calls is none other than Abraham, the “father” or patriarch of the Jews. The Galatians would understand that the Jews, particularly the Judaizers who were troubling them, would have great respect/admiration for Abraham as he was seen as the Father of the Jews and the one to whom God gave the promises of blessing. By referencing Abraham, Paul reminds the Galatians and us that we can and must look to Scripture’s testimony of how God justified his people throughout redemptive history.

How does Paul do this in verses 6-9? He points out two things about Abraham. You can see them printed there on page six of the WG. Paul explains that it was through faith alone that Abraham was justified, and it is through faith alone that the sons of Abraham are justified.

So, we learn about our justification by Paul’s reference to Abraham’s justification.
And as we look at and understand these truths, we understand that we are saved like Abraham, by faith alone.

Let’s look at these verses together now. Verse six says, “just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.” As I mentioned earlier, Paul is making several direct appeals to the Galatians.

Here in verse six, Paul issues a second direct appeal to the Galatians: it is not just their own experience of receiving the gospel by faith that should teach and remind them of how they are justified. It is also the testimony of those who God has justified in the past. Case and point – Abraham.

Why was Abraham significant? He was the Jewish patriarch. He is the ancestor that the Jews, including the Judaizers in Galatia, can trace their roots back to. He was the one to whom God initially made the covenantal promises of people and land. And he is also the one to whom God first commanded the sign of circumcision be applied.  So he is key to understanding this false teaching Paul is addressing.  

This quote is verse six comes from Genesis 15:6. In Genesis 15, God is making a covenantal promise to Abraham. Verse 5 of chapter 15 states, “5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” God promised Abraham many descendants. This was quite a promise because Abraham and his wife Sarah did not have any children at the time and we are told elsewhere in Genesis that Sarah was incapable of having children.

How did Abraham respond to God? It says, “6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham believed God. In other words, he had faith that God could and would keep His promise.

Then what happened? God counted Abraham’s faith, his belief, to him as righteousness. The word for “counted” - logízomai (Greek) - in the original language literally means “to reckon or impute.” And the grammatical structure here is very important. This verb is an aorist passive indicative. This means it is a snapshot of something that occurred in the past that the writer, in this case Paul, considers real or actual.

So, Abraham’s believing was actually counted to him as righteousness. And the passive nature of this verb “counted” means that it is something that happens to him. The structure indicates the act of being declared righteous was done by God to Abraham. Abraham believed and he was reckoned, counted righteous.

This is especially significant in light of the fact that Abraham was not circumcised until Gen. 17:24. So, Paul’s declaration about Abraham is doubly significant: the physical ritual did not determine his spiritual status. Faith, and faith alone, is the conduit by which grace flowed to Abraham. Remember, that one of the primary issues the Judazier’s were troubling or bewitching the Galatians with was the claim that circumcision was required for the Galatian Gentiles to be completely right with God.

Clearly, when Moses originally penned this verse in Genesis and now when Paul is emphasizing it here, they meant to show that Abraham’s righteousness was not something that he contributed to in any way. He was a passive participant in the act of being justified. Paul is saying that this person whom you hold in high esteem, the original patriarch, would agree with what Paul was teaching. Abraham was also reckoned, or counted as righteous, as a child of God, not based on his actions but on His heavenly Father’s declaration.

I believe everyone in here has a name. If you do not, I apologize. This illustration may not work for you. For those that have a name, when did you receive that name? Most, if not all of us, received our names either before we were born or very shortly after. Now, how much input did you have in deciding what your name would be? None. You and I were passive in the act of being assigned our names. Interesting, though, that the process of being given this thing that creates our unique identity and this thing that lets us and others know the family we belong to, does not require any action from you and me. I was declared to be Michael Brock Page by my parents.

Just like Abraham, those who trust in Christ (God) by faith alone are declared, counted, or reckoned to be righteous when God imputes the righteousness of Christ to our account. The OT example of Abraham teaches that it is through genuine faith, not the law, that one is counted righteous. Faith is the means by which the merits of Christ are appropriated to us.

The testimony of this star witness should be powerful for us. He was counted righteous apart from any works or act of obedience, including circumcision. When we studied through Genesis a couple of years ago, we learned that Abraham was a significant figure in redemptive history. The covenant God made with Abraham, a promise to bless him, to give him a land and many descendants, has direct implications for all believers. The next verses help us see how.

Look at verse 7. Paul establishes that those who share the faith of Abraham are considered the sons of Abraham. What does Paul mean by this?

First, the faith Paul speaks about is the faith which believes God, his promises, specifically a faith in Jesus. How do we know this? We find the answer in John 8:56. Jesus says, “56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

Abraham longed for the Messiah and he looked forward to the day when the offspring of Eve, the snake crusher, would be born and save his people. Abraham may not have known the details, but he looked to the day when God would save his people.

Paul establishes that anyone who has faith in Christ, like Abraham, is a child (son) of Abraham. What matters is not physical descent from Abraham (being Jewish), but spiritual descent (having the same faith as he did).  

So, what does it mean to have faith like Abraham? He had to believe and trust what God actually said in his promise to save. Abraham shows that saving faith is faith in God's provision, not our performance. Abraham was childless with a barren wife. He could not have children - yet God promised that his offspring would be as innumerable as the stars. The promise of an heir depended wholly on God, not on Abraham at all. Abraham had to believe that God would do it, and in Genesis 15, Abraham did.

When Paul says those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham, he is stating that the promise given to Abraham applies to those who have the faith of Abraham. Just like sons are the heirs of their earthly father’s inheritance, those who have faith in God are fellow heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17, Eph. 3:6, James 2:5, Titus 3:7) A true son of Abraham is based on spiritual descent, not physical descent. Anyone who has faith in Christ (God’s son) is saved and blessed along with Abraham. All those who share in his faith are the sons, the spiritual descendants, of Abraham. In Romans 9:6, says, “It is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. The true children of Abraham share his faith, regardless of whether they are physically descended from him.


There is a popular song that many who have been around church long enough have heard. It is called Father Abraham. It is a pretty simple song. It goes, “Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you, so let’s just praise the Lord.”

Those who have the faith of Abraham can truly sing that song. The faith that trusts in Christ alone for salvation, apart from works. Those are the true “sons” of Abraham.

Look at verse 8. Paul says that in the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, the personified Scripture included the Gentiles in the redemptive plan of God. Genesis 12:3 states, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The original promise, one that brought Abraham justification by faith alone, states that all the families of the earth would be blessed. In other words, the blessing would extend globally. This encompasses all people, both Jews and Gentiles.

What is the source of this blessing? It is Jesus. Jesus is the source by which Abraham is a blessing to all nations. Paul, in Romans 11, describes the blessing of all nations with the Gentiles as branches on an olive tree that have been grafted into the root, which is Jesus. Paul teaches that a descendant of Abraham is the ultimate source of blessing. Faith in Christ alone justifies the sinner and makes him a son of Abraham.  

This is the gospel. Paul tells us here in verse 8 that it was the gospel that was given to Abraham. The gospel was preached in the Old Testament. We understand the gospel to denote believing and trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Yet how can Paul say that the gospel, believing in Christ, existed before Christ’s advent? Because the coming of a Messiah, the seed of the woman, was foretold to Adam and Eve. Since that time, up to the time of Abraham, the promises of God centered on a coming Rescuer. For those in the OT, it was a faith looking forward to that coming Rescuer, Jesus.

For the Galatians, and us, it is a faith that looks back to the fulfillment of the promise through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Faith and faith alone in Christ justifies the sinner. Are you justified before God through Christ? Have you placed your faith in the only one who truly saves? Those who have receive the blessing of God.

Look at verse 9. It says that, “those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham.” What is the nature of that blessing?

Author and ordained PCA minister J.V. Fesko writes that the shortest answer to the nature of this blessing comes in Numbers 6:24-26, the Aaronic blessing. It states: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Fesko explains: “The blessing of the Abrahamic covenant, of the gospel, involves the protection and nurture of almighty God. It brings with it the unmerited favor of God and peace with Him. If people look to Christ by faith and trust in the promise of God, then the blessing of Abraham is poured out on them.” These blessings include - eternal life, an eternal land, being counted among the sons of Abraham, God’s favor, God’s presence forever.

How does a person experience all that God has promised to this people? They must be a part of his people. They must be “in the family.” A family that shares the faith of their Father Abraham.

Ancestry.com – you may have heard of this company. It is a popular way to identify your family tree. It is based on DNA samples collected from millions of people. By analyzing these samples, scientists have created a genealogy for millions around the world. If you provide a DNA sample, the technology can provide you with a portion of your family tree, your “blood” relatives.

Paul mentions a family tree in Galatians 3:7-9. It is the family tree of Abraham. However, rather than physical DNA being the determiner of lineage, it is the spiritual DNA of faith alone that links a person to Abraham and makes them a recipient of God’s salvation. Paul is stating that the true sons of Abraham are not the ones who have his blood running through their veins, but those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise made to Abraham.

From the very outset of creation, it was God's intention to fill the earth with people who bore his image and worshipped him. This is reflected in the dominion mandate given to the first Adam, in which God said be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. But Adam sinned and forfeited his right to rule over the creation and brought sin and death into the world. In the face of man's rebellion, God promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent and deliver God's people from their fallen state. Paul has explained it is through Abraham’s seed that all the families of the earth would be blessed. And now, it is by trusting in that seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, as did Abraham thousands of years ago, that both Jew and gentile are saved.

We must rely on faith alone as our ground for justification and for receiving the promises of God. This faith is mentioned three times in Gal. 3:8-9 as the sole determiner of present membership in God's covenant. Abraham believed God and had faith in His promises and was counted righteous. When a sinner believes God and has faith in Christ, they are counted righteous. God has always justified sinners by faith, not the law. Abraham was justified by faith, not circumcision or law keeping. And Paul uses this star witness to remind the Galatians and us that all believers are saved through faith alone by the grace of God alone.

Let’s pray together.