Msg.
07: Works of the Law or
Hearing of Faith
Bible Reading: Gal 3:1-5
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1. We have just enjoyed the book of Nehemiah, which describes, beginning in chapter 7, the
restoration of the services, administration, and government of Jerusalem with the walls now rebuilt.
Gatekeepers, singers, Levites, and administrators were appointed for the city, and from this moment
on, all things were put in order. Today, in the history of the church, we are living in a moment
corresponding to this: Our service has been put in order, and the Lord wants to restore our
enthusiasm and excellence in serving God.
Gal 3:1
2. Paul's letter to the Galatians is set with backround of the Judaizers' visit to Galatia to disturb
the Gentile believers, wanting to lead them back to the practice of the law and circumcision. Paul
was desperate, because they were ruining all of Paul's work among them, because they were
against the gospel he preached to these brothers and sisters. The apostle calls the Galatians foolish
and says that they were bewitched (Gal 3:1). Foolishness means a total lack of judgment and good
sense, and the word bewitch, in the original Greek, has the meaning of bewitching, seducing, with a
sense of magic or evil seduction. In other words, the enemy was there trying to divert the Galatians
from the right path.
John 3:14; Num 21:8-9; Rom 8:3
3. Paul also says that before the eyes of the Galatians, Jesus Christ was exposed as crucified.
This means that God had made it evident, in such a way as to fully expose the crucifixion of Christ.
Similarly, Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14).
4. In Numbers 21, because of the people’s murmuring, God sent fiery serpents, whose venom
killed many. When the people repented, the solution was to make the serpent out of bronze, which
was to be lifted up on a pole so that everyone could see it, and whoever looked at it would be healed.
Then, to lift up means to make evident, to expose to the public. In the same way, it was important
that Jesus be lifted up. God wants to expose the cross of Christ, because it is the central point
of the truth of the gospel, of our salvation and our healing.
Rom 6:6; Gal 3:13
5. The bronze serpent had the appearance of a serpent, but it had no venom. Likewise, our Lord
Jesus came in the flesh, but He did not partake of sin; He did not have the sinful nature within Him.
Therefore, when Jesus was crucified, sin and the flesh, along with our old man, were crucified with
Him (Rom 6:6). Trying to improve our conduct by keeping the old man alive will not free us
from sin. God's solution to free us from sinful flesh is the cross. Just like the bronze serpent,
which healed whoever looked at it, the cross is our salvation, our cure!
1 Cor 1:17-29
6. Human capacity and experience are still in the flesh, in the old man. That is why Paul did not
want to use eloquence in his preaching, so as not to nullify the cross of Christ. The word of the
cross is the power of God! Through it we died with Christ and were resurrected with Him.
Therefore, we no longer live in slavery to sin, but in newness of life! Only the power of God could do
this for us. To believe in the cross of Christ is to believe in the foolishness of preaching! God does
not need man to serve Him according to his own wisdom or ability. He wants to eliminate our old
man and give us a new beginning in resurrection. In the Spirit, He is free to live through us. Let us
let God do His work in us through the resurrection life, not using our wisdom.
1 Cor 2:1-5
7. In the New Testament, nothing is done by human ability or wisdom, but by the Spirit,
by the power of God through the Word. To return to the practice of the law is to return to trusting
in human ability and wisdom, nullifying the cross of Christ. Therefore, God chose the foolish things
of the world to shame the wise, and chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong, so that
no one may boast in the presence of God (1 Cor 1:26-29).
Gal 3:2; Rom 10:17
8. The word “preaching” in Galatians 3:2 and Romans 10:17, in the original Greek, is “akoe”,
which means “to hear” or “hearing.” Therefore, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God.” When we hear the word of God, we gain faith. However, this hearing is more than merely
having the ability to hear a word. It means receiving the word of God into our hearts. Many people
hear beautiful preachings and beautiful sermons, but “it goes in one ear and out the other,” and what
remains in the heart is almost nothing. Therefore, it is very important to hear the word of God
properly.
Ex 19:3-5; Deut 18:18
9. Moses, as a prophet and servant of God, was not free to speak his own words. He had to
faithfully convey what God spoke to him (Ex 19:3). A true prophet only speaks what God
commands him (Deut 18:18).
10. In Exodus 19, the Lord speaks of all that He has done to make His people Israel His own
special possession. For this to happen, there was one condition: diligently listening to and keeping
God’s word. In the same way, we need to listen to and put the word into practice. This is the
Lord's only condition for His people even today, because everything else the word does, it
has the power to do. God does not need our ability; the word of God will do the work through us.
In doing so, He will make us His own special possession, His own treasure. He will make us a
kingdom of priests, in which all serve; and a holy nation, in which all live by the holy life of God. It is
not a matter of changing our behavior; it is the Spirit who does the work, through the word.
All we need to do is listen diligently.
Deut 6:3-8; John 3:16
11. Therefore, our listening cannot be superficial. We need to listen carefully and practice the
Word. If we do this, our life will go well, and all kinds of problems will be solved. We just need to let
God work, giving us power and life so that the Word can have an effect on us. This is a relationship,
and for it to work, it needs love. God loved us and we love Him too. This loving relationship makes
the Word dwell in our hearts. Our listening should not be like a mechanical process that only involves
the auditory organ; we need to listen consciously, with attention. In this way, the Word will penetrate
our hearts; this is the hearing of faith.
12. In addition to listening, we also need to work the word of God into the next generations,
our children, our family. To inculcate means to “imprint” or “engrave” God’s word in our hearts
through repeated repetitions until it is engraved in our hearts. God knows that man can hear
something once, twice, or more times, and yet the content still does not enter our hearts. We must
listen repeatedly. God’s words are commands, so we must heed them and practice them.
13. We need to practice immersion in the word like teenagers. They transcribe the messages,
listen to the word when they sleep and wake up, and inculcate it in their hearts at all times. We can
engrave the word of God on our hearts everywhere. The people of Israel had to bind the word
as a sign on their hands, on their foreheads, and on their doors (Deut 6:8). Similarly, today, we can
carry the immersion pamphlet anywhere and at all times, read it, inculcate the word, and pray for
people.
Eph 5:18-19; Col 3:16
14. To live a victorious Christian life, we need to be filled with the Spirit. We do not need the
“wine” of the world to intoxicate us. And the way to be filled with the Spirit is to speak to one another
in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. That is why Paul tells the Colossians to let the word dwell in
their hearts richly, teaching one another and admonishing one another. The word of the Lord must
be spoken to one another. When we do so, it is inculcated and engraved in our hearts. We should
not use our opinions to instruct and advise one another, but we should use the word of God. Thus,
we pray for the people on the streets, using the word that God spoke to us during the week. This
word meets the needs of the people, because it is the power of God. The prophetic word is the
best counsel.
Gal 3:2, 5
15. Hearing in faith gives us the Spirit (Gal 3:2), but practicing the law does not have this power.
When we practice hearing in faith, we receive the Spirit, and He has the power to perform miracles.
We only need to listen diligently, with faith, and the Spirit will do God's work in our lives.
John 3:1-8
16. Nicodemus represents the maximum that a man can achieve through the practice of the law.
He was a leading Jew, old, experienced, mature, and a teacher of the law. Practicing the law can
take a man to Nicodemus’ level, but he went to Jesus, who was half his age, for help. He recognized
that the signs performed by Jesus could only be performed by the Spirit. No man has this ability,
which amazed Nicodemus. Jesus then explained that without being born from above, there is no
way to obtain the things of the kingdom of heaven. His signs belonged to another sphere, the
heavenly sphere; therefore, without being born from above, one cannot access heavenly things.
17. The theory of reincarnation preaches another opportunity to be born of the flesh, in order to
improve a person's conduct and behavior. Even if reincarnation existed, man would never improve,
because he remains in the sphere of the flesh. Let us understand that what is flesh remains flesh
(John 3:6). If we continue trying to perfect ourselves in the flesh, the most we will reach is the level
of Nicodemus. But, if we want to be like Jesus, we must go to another sphere, which is
heavenly: the sphere of the Spirit. To have access to this sphere we need to be born again, born
from above, of the Spirit. And to do this, we just need to believe in Jesus.
Rom 8:14-16; John 3:8
18. God’s desire is that those born of the Spirit be led by the Spirit (John 3:8). We cannot
return to the realm of the flesh and live rationally, by our own logic and wisdom. Today we follow
the Spirit through His Word, and He does not follow human logic. Human beings walk in logical
sequence, this is our natural essence, which is why practicing the law is so attractive. Walking by
the Spirit, on the other hand, has no logical sequence; we never know what the next step is. If we
remain in the logical realm, the most we will have been several “Nicodemuses,” but it is Jesus that
we need. Therefore, we need many people following the Spirit, allowing Him to do God’s work. Just
like the colpourters, we cannot serve in logical sequence, but must follow the Spirit.
Gal 3:1-4
19. In Galatians 3, Paul despairs because the Galatians, who had received the faith in such a
pure way through Paul’s preaching, were soon contaminated by the preaching of the Judaizers and
began to follow the logic, rules, doctrines, and ordinances based on the law of Moses with the aim
of achieving God’s blessings through the efforts of the flesh. All of this is deception! By practicing
the law, man does not receive the Spirit. However, by hearing with faith, man receives and can
follow the Spirit, who thus has freedom to lead him to do God’s will.
Rom 7:5-6
20. The law is related to the flesh, because it reveals man’s sinful nature. However, it does not
have the power to solve the problem of sin, and man remains under slavery. On the other hand, faith
is related to the Spirit. By living in the realm of faith, we give Him freedom to perform miracles
and do God’s will.
Rom 8:3, 6, 13
21. The sinful nature is in the flesh, and it is the source of the passions of those who live according
to the flesh. When we live according to the flesh, these passions remain active. Living according to
the flesh, we will never be able to overcome it, because the passions lead us to sin. But through
the hearing of faith, we receive the Spirit and leave the carnal realm. The Spirit, then, has
freedom to do God’s work in us and through us.
Rom 7:1-6, 14, 21-23; Rom 6:6; Gal 2:20
22. The flesh is our old man enslaved by sin; and, being slaves to sin, we will also be slaves to
the law, because we are unable to keep it. If we want to remain in this realm, we will never be free.
The only way to be free is to put our old man to death. Just as a woman, by law, is freed from
marital obligation when her husband dies, we will only be free from the old man when he dies (Rom
7:1-6).
23. By faith, our old man died with Christ on the cross, so we are free to marry Christ! We have
been crucified with Christ, so it is no longer our old man who lives, but Christ lives in us (Gal 2:20)!
This is the liberation that God proposes to us; let us not want to return to the law.
Rom 6:4
24. On the other hand, being resurrected with Christ, through faith, is living in newness of
life. Hearing the word of faith, immersion, and inculcation of the word take us to the sphere of the
Spirit, the sphere of faith. In it, our old man has already died with Christ and we live in newness of
life, because Christ has risen and lives in us today!
Gal 3:3-4
25. When we received the Lord and were born again, we were very simple. However, as time
went on, we began to acquire knowledge, experience, and abilities, and we began to rely on
ourselves and lose the initial simplicity of relying on the Spirit. We lost the vigor and power of the
Spirit. This is beginning in the spirit and then being perfected in the flesh (Gal. 3:3).
26. On his first journey, Paul suffered much persecution and was even stoned. And the Galatians,
for listening to Paul's word, suffered persecution as well. That is why Paul says that they were making
this suffering in vain by returning to the sphere of the law. Let us remain simple, humble, and not
trust in our flesh. Let us not serve the Lord by our own efforts or skills acquired over time.
Heb 1:3; 11:1, 3
27. God is the One who gives the Spirit through faith, which is the channel for God to supply us
with spiritual blessings. In Hebrews 1:3, we read that Christ is the brightness of God’s glory, which
is glory itself. God is the very substance of God, and Christ is the exact expression of Him. In the
original Greek, the word “hupostasis” is translated as “exact expression.” It means “being,”
“substance.” This same word is used in Hebrews 11:1, which is translated as “assurance.” In other
words, faith is the “hupostasis” of things hoped for.
28. God dwells in eternity, in the realm of invisible things. On the other hand, we, who live within
the dimension of time and space, do not have access to everything that belongs to the heavenly
sphere. However, faith substantiates and makes concrete the things of the divine sphere. It
is the only channel for us to access divine things. The origin of visible things is in invisible things,
and we access invisible things through faith. On the other hand, the practice of the law is in the realm
of human effort and cannot give us access to spiritual things.
Gal 3:5; Acts 15:8-9
29. The word “grant” in Galatians 3:5 has the meaning of supplying abundantly. God wants to
supply us with His Spirit abundantly, and He does so through the hearing of faith. God granted
the Spirit to the Jews on the day of Pentecost and also granted it to the Gentiles in the house of
Cornelius in Acts 10. In the New Testament, in the realm of faith, God makes no distinction between
Jews and Gentiles who believed, for they are all members of the same body of Christ. But the
Judaizers insisted on this distinction, believing that they had “something more,” so they continued to
practice the law.
30. The greatest proof of God’s action is to grant man the Holy Spirit through faith. Today
the Spirit is working in the church because we are in the sphere of faith. This gives Him freedom
among us. That is why we must continue in this dimension, and not depend on our own abilities and
experiences. Let us follow the Spirit through the word, which is the lamp that shows us the way.
Rom 4-8
31. Today we are heirs of God. While the son is immature, he cannot be an heir. The Lord is
waiting for us to mature so that we can be His heirs. Then we, who suffer with Him, will be
glorified with Him. What God has prepared for those who are led by the Spirit is glorious. Today
we have the Son of God “incubating” within us, but one day He will reveal Himself in glory. Today,
in the flesh, we live under a captivity of corruption, and we have led all of nature to live under this
captivity as well. The entire creation is waiting for our deliverance; when the Lord returns, we will be
fully glorified (Rom 8:14-21).
Acts 2:22; Gal 3:5
32. The Spirit is the One who performs miracles. There is no point in trying to perform miracles
on our own. We need to have the hearing of faith, so that we receive the Spirit, who finds
freedom in us and will perform miracles. God can then accomplish His will through us. Miracles
are not for show, but to do God’s work. Christ wants to return! Therefore, we need to continue in the
realm of hearing of faith, so that He may grant us more Spirit, perform more miracles, and accomplish
His will.
Acts 2:43; 3:1-12; 4:16; 5:12; 6:8; 4:8, 9,13-16
33. Every time we see miracles, wonders, and signs in the Bible, it means that the Spirit found
freedom through the hearing of faith. The apostles performed signs because the Spirit was at work.
Jesus performed miracles that Nicodemus, who lived in the flesh, could not perform. No man has
the ability to perform miracles; the Spirit performs them when he finds freedom to operate in
the sphere of faith. That is why immersion, transcription, and war cries are so important. In this
way, when we go out into the streets, the Spirit can act.
Acts 2:42
34. We must never depart from the model of the early church. Let us persevere in the apostles’
teaching and fellowship, and the Spirit will do the rest. We trust that the word we receive, when
instilled in our hearts, has the power to accomplish God’s work.
Phil 3:3
35. We must not go back to relying on the flesh, our own abilities, and our experiences to do
God’s work. We must depend on the Spirit at all times, through the hearing of faith. If we go
back to practicing the law, using our own efforts in church life, hierarchy, competition, disputes, love
of primacy, seeking position, and fighting for followers will once again arise among us. These are
elements that cause division in the church and paralyze the work of the Spirit. Therefore, let us
continue to give freedom to the Spirit, remaining simple, trusting, and inculcating the word so that,
through the Spirit, it may do God’s work with miracles, wonders, and signs.
36. At the last Christian Expo fair which took place in 2019, in the opening speech, a pastor said
that, unfortunately, today we no longer see among us the miracles, wonders and signs of the
beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. But these signs have returned! To live those days again is a
blessing, a privilege. We believe that the Lord will restore in us the model of Acts 2:42-47. The
walls have been restored and the Lord is restoring all the services so that we can once again have
a church that is an instrument to carry out His work.
