The Finished Work of Jesus
FREE | Week 4 — Galatians 3 | Preached October 25, 2026
Adapted from the sermon by Brett Smith | Dwell New Life City
A house can look sound until a storm tests what is underneath it. In Week 4 of FREE, Brett Smith brings that picture to Galatians 3. Many of us trust Christ for forgiveness and then build our day-to-day lives on our ability to hold everything together. Paul asks the Galatians to look again at their foundation.
The image of the two houses in Matthew 7:24–27 makes the question concrete. The storm reaches both houses. The difference only becomes visible when the ground and the walls are tested. Jesus describes the wise builder as someone who hears His words and does them. Obedience is how that builder acts on trust. In the same way, relying on the finished work of Jesus can make us more willing to do the difficult thing He asks. Our confidence rests on the One we are listening to.
How did you receive the Spirit?
Paul begins with a question the Galatians can answer from experience. Did they receive the Spirit by doing works of the law or by hearing with faith? They had seen God work among them before they could present a record of religious accomplishment. The Spirit had come as God’s gift. Paul asks why they would now expect human effort to accomplish the growth the Spirit began.
Galatians 3:1–5 moves from Christ crucified to the experience of receiving the Spirit. Paul puts those realities next to each other so the churches can see where their life came from. The message of the cross reached them, they believed it, and God worked among them. Their dependence on Him was already part of the story. Now a system built on religious achievement promised them a more measurable way to grow. Paul asks them to trust the God who has already shown them how He works.
We can recognize the same shift when a habit becomes a calculation. Perhaps you have promised yourself that this week you will pray longer, lose your temper less often, and finally feel secure. Those desires may be good. The question is what you expect them to secure for you. If prayer is a way of meeting with Jesus, you can bring the anger and the fear right into it. If prayer is how you keep your standing, you may feel the need to get yourself in order before you come. That difference will shape how you respond on the very day you need grace most.
We recognize that impulse when we treat a difficult week as proof that God has withdrawn or use a good week to reassure ourselves that He still approves. Over time, spiritual practices can become a way of keeping score. Galatians invites us to bring our actual lives, including our failures, to the same Jesus who met us at the beginning.
The promise and the cross
Paul looks back to Abraham, who believed God and was counted righteous. The promise came before the law and rested on God’s faithfulness. Paul also takes sin seriously enough to speak of a curse. Christ redeems us by bearing that curse Himself, so that the blessing promised to Abraham comes to the Gentiles and we receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Later in the chapter, Paul describes the law as a guardian with a role until Christ came. In Christ, believers have been clothed with Him and receive the standing of heirs. God’s family includes people who, by every familiar social measure, might have expected very different places in the room. Their common standing rests on Christ.
Paul also makes a distinction between the promise and the guardian. A guardian has a real role for a season. A guardian does not give the child the inheritance. By describing the law this way, Paul shows its place in the story without making it the source of life. The promise reaches its fulfillment in Christ. What God gives His children through Him goes deeper than external management of their behavior.
The language of being clothed with Christ brings that truth close. In Galatians 3:26–29, people with very different social standings share the same inheritance through faith. You can picture what that means for a congregation. The people who feel most at home in church and the people who arrive uncertain where to sit enter through the same door. The same Jesus supplies their standing, and the same Spirit is at work in their growth.
Where transformation happens
Brett connects this passage to 2 Corinthians 3:16–18. As we turn to the Lord and behold His glory, the Spirit changes us. Hebrews 1:3 also directs our attention to Jesus, who makes the Father’s character known. If you suspect the Father is perpetually disappointed with you, spend some time watching how Jesus welcomes people, speaks truth, and gives Himself for them.
There is room for effort in this life. We can pray, practice obedience, and get up again after failure. The foundation determines what that effort is for. Prayer can become the place where we receive what we need. Obedience can become the way we act on trust. Failure can send us back to Jesus for help instead of sending us into hiding.
Consider a moment when you realize you have spoken impatiently to someone you love. You can resolve to work harder and hope they forget. Or you can tell Jesus the truth about what happened, ask for help, and return to the person with an apology. You still have something to do. Depending on Christ changes how you do it and gives you a way to face what went wrong. Over time, these are the places where His life takes visible shape in ours.
Brett’s emphasis on the goodness of God matters here. People learn to hide when they expect only condemnation. Seeing the Father through Jesus makes it possible to come into the light, receive correction, and keep growing. What Christ finished at the cross is the foundation for the work He continues in us by His Spirit.
Reflect and Respond
Name one place where you feel responsible for producing spiritual growth by yourself. Read Galatians 3:1–5 and bring that place to Jesus in prayer. What would the next faithful action look like if you took it while depending on Him?
Watch the sermon
https://dwellnlc.org/media/2pk6r6d/sunday-sermon-10-25-2026-free-week-4-the-finished-work-of-jesus
Browse the FREE sermon series
https://dwellnlc.org/media/series/bsjhwnf/free-the-letter-to-the-galatians
Adapted from the sermon by Brett Smith | Dwell New Life City
A house can look sound until a storm tests what is underneath it. In Week 4 of FREE, Brett Smith brings that picture to Galatians 3. Many of us trust Christ for forgiveness and then build our day-to-day lives on our ability to hold everything together. Paul asks the Galatians to look again at their foundation.
The image of the two houses in Matthew 7:24–27 makes the question concrete. The storm reaches both houses. The difference only becomes visible when the ground and the walls are tested. Jesus describes the wise builder as someone who hears His words and does them. Obedience is how that builder acts on trust. In the same way, relying on the finished work of Jesus can make us more willing to do the difficult thing He asks. Our confidence rests on the One we are listening to.
How did you receive the Spirit?
Paul begins with a question the Galatians can answer from experience. Did they receive the Spirit by doing works of the law or by hearing with faith? They had seen God work among them before they could present a record of religious accomplishment. The Spirit had come as God’s gift. Paul asks why they would now expect human effort to accomplish the growth the Spirit began.
Galatians 3:1–5 moves from Christ crucified to the experience of receiving the Spirit. Paul puts those realities next to each other so the churches can see where their life came from. The message of the cross reached them, they believed it, and God worked among them. Their dependence on Him was already part of the story. Now a system built on religious achievement promised them a more measurable way to grow. Paul asks them to trust the God who has already shown them how He works.
We can recognize the same shift when a habit becomes a calculation. Perhaps you have promised yourself that this week you will pray longer, lose your temper less often, and finally feel secure. Those desires may be good. The question is what you expect them to secure for you. If prayer is a way of meeting with Jesus, you can bring the anger and the fear right into it. If prayer is how you keep your standing, you may feel the need to get yourself in order before you come. That difference will shape how you respond on the very day you need grace most.
We recognize that impulse when we treat a difficult week as proof that God has withdrawn or use a good week to reassure ourselves that He still approves. Over time, spiritual practices can become a way of keeping score. Galatians invites us to bring our actual lives, including our failures, to the same Jesus who met us at the beginning.
The promise and the cross
Paul looks back to Abraham, who believed God and was counted righteous. The promise came before the law and rested on God’s faithfulness. Paul also takes sin seriously enough to speak of a curse. Christ redeems us by bearing that curse Himself, so that the blessing promised to Abraham comes to the Gentiles and we receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Later in the chapter, Paul describes the law as a guardian with a role until Christ came. In Christ, believers have been clothed with Him and receive the standing of heirs. God’s family includes people who, by every familiar social measure, might have expected very different places in the room. Their common standing rests on Christ.
Paul also makes a distinction between the promise and the guardian. A guardian has a real role for a season. A guardian does not give the child the inheritance. By describing the law this way, Paul shows its place in the story without making it the source of life. The promise reaches its fulfillment in Christ. What God gives His children through Him goes deeper than external management of their behavior.
The language of being clothed with Christ brings that truth close. In Galatians 3:26–29, people with very different social standings share the same inheritance through faith. You can picture what that means for a congregation. The people who feel most at home in church and the people who arrive uncertain where to sit enter through the same door. The same Jesus supplies their standing, and the same Spirit is at work in their growth.
Where transformation happens
Brett connects this passage to 2 Corinthians 3:16–18. As we turn to the Lord and behold His glory, the Spirit changes us. Hebrews 1:3 also directs our attention to Jesus, who makes the Father’s character known. If you suspect the Father is perpetually disappointed with you, spend some time watching how Jesus welcomes people, speaks truth, and gives Himself for them.
There is room for effort in this life. We can pray, practice obedience, and get up again after failure. The foundation determines what that effort is for. Prayer can become the place where we receive what we need. Obedience can become the way we act on trust. Failure can send us back to Jesus for help instead of sending us into hiding.
Consider a moment when you realize you have spoken impatiently to someone you love. You can resolve to work harder and hope they forget. Or you can tell Jesus the truth about what happened, ask for help, and return to the person with an apology. You still have something to do. Depending on Christ changes how you do it and gives you a way to face what went wrong. Over time, these are the places where His life takes visible shape in ours.
Brett’s emphasis on the goodness of God matters here. People learn to hide when they expect only condemnation. Seeing the Father through Jesus makes it possible to come into the light, receive correction, and keep growing. What Christ finished at the cross is the foundation for the work He continues in us by His Spirit.
Reflect and Respond
Name one place where you feel responsible for producing spiritual growth by yourself. Read Galatians 3:1–5 and bring that place to Jesus in prayer. What would the next faithful action look like if you took it while depending on Him?
Watch the sermon
https://dwellnlc.org/media/2pk6r6d/sunday-sermon-10-25-2026-free-week-4-the-finished-work-of-jesus
Browse the FREE sermon series
https://dwellnlc.org/media/series/bsjhwnf/free-the-letter-to-the-galatians
Posted in FREE — Galatians
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