Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul doesn't just ask if they received the Spirit by faith or law; he frames it as a direct question to learn from them, highlighting that their own experience is the ultimate proof. The phrase "hearing of faith" beautifully captures that faith isn't about doing, but about receiving God's promise through the message they heard.
Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is challenging the Galatians, who have started to embrace teachings that emphasize following the Jewish Law for salvation. He reminds them of their initial conversion experience, asking them to recall how they first received the Holy Spirit. He contrasts the path of performing religious duties (works of the law) with the path of trusting in God's message (hearing with faith) as the way they truly encountered God's Spirit.
Paul confronts the Galatians with a simple question about their spiritual beginnings. Was it their effort or God's message that sparked their new life?
Paul asks the Galatians if they received the Holy Spirit through their own actions ('works of the law') or by listening to and believing God's message ('hearing with faith').
Paul emphasizes that the Spirit, which empowers believers and is a sign of God's favor, comes through faith in the Gospel message, not through humanly devised religious practices.
Many people think faith is about performing certain actions. But Paul clarifies the very nature of faith in this passage.
Paul's question points to a core truth about faith: it is fundamentally about receiving rather than doing.
When the Galatians first heard the Gospel, they didn't earn the Holy Spirit by performing any religious duties. Instead, they opened their ears and hearts to the message of God's love and forgiveness through Jesus, and the Spirit as a gift.
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This is the essence of faith – it's not about accumulating good deeds to impress God, but about trusting that God's promises are true and accepting what He freely offers. The 'hearing of faith' is about the receptive posture of the heart towards God's word.
Understand the original words
pneuma · Greek Noun
The promised gift of God given to believers after the resurrection of Jesus, indwelling them, empowering them for ministry, and sealing them as children of God.
erga nomou · Greek Noun phrase
Activities or observances done in an attempt to earn justification or righteousness before God; contrasted by Paul with the free gift of grace received through faith.
pistis · Greek Noun
A confident trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ; it is the instrument through which believers receive justification, apart from any human merit or effort.
This verse directly addresses the foundational experience of the Galatian believers. They initially received the Holy Spirit and experienced God's transformative power not by trying to keep the Law of Moses, but by hearing and believing the gospel message.
c. 30-33 AD— this verse
Pentecost and the Outpouring of the Spirit
Following Jesus' ascension, the Holy Spirit is dramatically poured out on believers in Jerusalem, empowering them with miraculous gifts and transforming their lives. This event marks the birth of the Christian church.
c. 33-48 AD
Early Spread of the Gospel
The apostles and early Christians preach the gospel throughout Judea, Samaria, and into the wider Roman world. Many Gentiles hear the message of faith in Christ and receive the Holy Spirit.
c. 48-49 AD
Council of Jerusalem
A major dispute arises regarding whether Gentile believers must be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses. The council affirms that salvation comes through faith in Jesus, not adherence to the Law.
c. 50-55 AD
Paul's Missionary Journeys
The Apostle Paul travels extensively, establishing churches in regions like Galatia. He consistently preaches salvation by grace through faith in Christ and the reception of the Holy Spirit.
c. 54-57 AD
Paul writes to the Galatians
Paul writes this letter to the churches in Galatia, likely from Ephesus or Corinth, to address a serious error: some were teaching that Gentile believers needed to be circumcised and obey the Mosaic Law to be truly saved.
This passage directly asks how someone can believe without hearing, highlighting that faith comes through hearing the message of Christ, just as Paul asks if the Galatians received the Spirit by hearing faith.
Acts 11:17Peter recounts how God gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles 'just as he did to us,' emphasizing that the Spirit's reception was a gift tied to their faith, mirroring Paul's question to the Galatians about the origin of their Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13Paul states that believers were 'marked in him with a seal, even the promised Holy Spirit, who is a guarantee of our inheritance,' underscoring that the Spirit is received by faith, not by law.
John 7:39This verse explains that the Holy Spirit had not yet been given in the same way because Jesus had not yet been glorified, pointing to the Spirit's conferral as a post-ascension gift received through faith in Him.
jfbGalatians 3:2: "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"
- "Was it by the works of the law that ye received the Spirit (manifested by outward miracles, Ga 3:5; Mr 16:17; Heb 2:4; and by spiritual graces, Ga 3:14; Ga 4:5, 6; Eph 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. T…
vincentGalatians 3:2: "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"
This onlyI will convince you of your error by this one point. Do you owe the gifts of the Spirit to the works of the law, or to the message of faith?Received ye, etc.The answer lies in the question. You cannot deny that you received the gifts of the Spirit by the message of faith.The hearing of faith (ἀκοῆς πίστεως)See on Galatians 1:23. For hearing, render message. So…
Paul doesn't just ask if they received the Spirit by faith or law; he frames it as a direct question to learn from them, highlighting that their own experience is the ultimate proof. The phrase "hearing of faith" beautifully captures that faith isn't about doing, but about receiving God's promise through the message they heard.
Paul is challenging the Galatians, who have started to embrace teachings that emphasize following the Jewish Law for salvation. He reminds them of their initial conversion experience, asking them to recall how they first received the Holy Spirit. He contrasts the path of performing religious duties (works of the law) with the path of trusting in God's message (hearing with faith) as the way they truly encountered God's Spirit.
Paul is challenging the Galatians, who have started to embrace teachings that emphasize following the Jewish Law for salvation. He reminds them of their initial conversion experience, asking them to recall how they first received the Holy Spirit. He contrasts the path of performing religious duties (works of the law) with the path of trusting in God's message (hearing with faith) as the way they truly encountered God's Spirit.
"Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?" — Paul doesn't just ask if they received the Spirit by faith or law; he frames it as a direct question to learn from them, highlighting that their own experience is the ultimate proof. The phrase "he…
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Last reviewed October 2026