I remember the first suit I ever bought for myself.
It was 1988, and I was working at Men’s Wearhouse—so I had access to the good stuff, not Hart, Shafner, and Marx, but high quality suits. I picked out a charcoal gray, double-breasted suit with chalk line pinstripes. Sharp. Classic. It was a $300 suit—top shelf for the time. But with my employee discount, I got it for $180. That would be about $500 today.
It wasn’t cheap. But it mattered.
I remember slipping it on and looking in the mirror... and I didn’t see a boy anymore.
I saw a man.
There was something about that suit—the way it fit, the weight of the fabric, the feel of the fabric on my shoulders—that made me stand a little straighter. It didn’t just change how I looked—it changed how I felt. It gave me a sense of who I was becoming.
Side note—and I say this with love—if you’re a guy and you don’t own a good suit yet… go get one. Don’t wait for a funeral or a wedding to realize you need it. Every man should have at least one. Okay—soapbox over.
Here’s the point: clothes don’t just cover us. Sometimes, they shape us. They tell us—and others—something about who we are.
That’s exactly what Paul is getting at in Galatians 3.
He writes to a group of believers who were slipping back into old habits—trying to earn what God had already given.
They were reaching for rituals, rules, identity markers… instead of resting in grace.
So Paul says something bold:
“You’ve been clothed with Christ.”
Not just inspired by Him. Not just forgiven.
Clothed. Covered in His righteousness.
Wrapped in His identity.
Marked as His own.
And then he asks them a question that still speaks today:
“Who told you that you weren’t already enough in Christ?”
Maybe you’ve heard that voice too.
So today, we open this letter—not just for the Galatians… but for us.
3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a] 4 Have you experienced[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain?5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[c]
7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[d] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Children of God
23 Before the coming of this faith,[a] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. "This is the Word of the Lord,"
"Thanks be to God"
Part I: Bewitched and Forgetful
Paul doesn’t ease into this section of the letter.
He doesn’t say, “Hey friends, let’s talk.”
No—he says, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”
It’s strong language. But it’s not angry—it’s urgent.
Paul sees what’s happening. These believers, who had begun with the freedom of grace, are slipping back into performance.
They’re trying to earn what God has already given.
So Paul asks them, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?”
In other words: “How did this begin for you?”
Was it your rule-keeping that brought the Spirit into your life? Or was it your simple, childlike trust in Jesus?
Let me tell you a story that might help.
About two years ago, someone gave me one of the most generous gifts I’ve ever received—box seats to a Falcons game.
And not just for me. For my dad and my sons too. Four generations of us, together.
The seats were incredible. Great view, private parking, padded chairs, and all the food you could eat. We walked in, sat down, and enjoyed the experience from start to finish.
It was a gift. Totally free.
Now imagine if, a week later, I started feeling kind of guilty about it.
So I wrote the guy a check. Maybe $50. Then another a few weeks later. Trying to “pitch in.” Trying to feel like I’d earned it somehow.
You know what would happen?
He’d call me and say, “Lewis… what are you doing? That wasn’t a loan. That was a gift. And honestly, you’re cheapening it by trying to pay me back.”
And he’d be right.
Some gifts lose their beauty when we try to earn them.
That’s what Paul is saying to the Galatians.
That’s what God is saying to us.
The Holy Spirit didn’t enter your life because you earned it.
The love of God didn’t start flowing into your heart because you kept all the rules.
It started with grace. It started with faith.
And now… you’re trying to finish by works what began in the Spirit?
Trying to earn what the Spirit gave you freely will only lead to exhaustion—not transformation.
You can’t willpower your way into what only the Spirit can do in you.
So let me ask you, as Paul asked them:
Are you trying to prove something to God today?
Are you carrying the pressure to be “enough,” when God already called you His own?
Don’t forget your beginning. Don’t forget the gift.
You didn’t perform your way into this family.
You were invited. You were welcomed.
You were given box seats to grace.
Part II: Abraham and the Family of Faith
Galatians 3:6–9
After Paul wakes the Galatians up with a jolt—“You foolish Galatians!”—he doesn’t leave them exposed.
He brings them back to something secure.
He brings them back to their roots.
He says: “Let’s talk about Abraham.”
Now, if anyone had religious credibility, it was Abraham.
The father of the Jewish people. The one God called out of nowhere and made a promise to.
But Paul doesn’t point to Abraham’s obedience first.
He doesn’t say, “Remember when Abraham was circumcised?” or “Remember how he followed all the rules?”
No—he points to something earlier, something deeper:
“So also Abraham ‘believed God,’ and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
Abraham believed the promise.
And that—not circumcision, not law—was the moment he was declared righteous.
Paul’s telling the Galatians—and us—this has always been about faith.
The whole story of salvation is rooted in trusting God’s promise, not in proving yourself through effort.
The Family You Didn’t Know You Had
It’s like those stories you hear about someone taking a DNA test—just for fun—and discovering they have family they never knew existed.
Imagine finding out you have a sister or a brother you’ve never met.
They look like you. They talk like you.
You start noticing little things—shared quirks, common habits—and suddenly you realize:
“I’m not alone in the world like I thought I was.”
The blood was always there.
But now, you know you belong.
That’s what Paul is saying.
“Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.” (v. 7)
You’ve been adopted into a family you didn’t even know you were part of.
A family that stretches back through the centuries.
Not by law.
Not by ritual.
By faith.
You Are Not an Outsider
And here’s the good news:
“Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’” (v. 8)
That’s us.
We’re the “all nations.”
You and I are part of the blessing promised to Abraham—not because we followed the law, but because we followed the Savior.
You are not second-tier.
You are not a guest in someone else’s house.
You are family.
And not just barely included. You’re a full heir to the promise of God.
Closing the Section:
So Paul isn’t just retelling history. He’s reminding us of our identity.
Grace didn’t start with Jesus—it started with Abraham.
And what began as a promise to one man has become the inheritance of a global family, made one through faith.
You didn’t perform your way in.
You believed your way in.
And that’s always been the plan.
Part III: Clothed with Christ, One in Christ
Galatians 3:23–29
After Paul roots our identity in faith—not law, not culture, not tradition—he brings us to one of the most revolutionary statements in all of Scripture:
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Paul shifts the metaphor here.
He says, “You’ve put on Christ.”
It’s not just that you believe in Him.
It’s that you’re wearing Him. Covered. Marked.
When God sees you, He sees His Son.
Back to the Suit: A Deeper Identity
You remember that suit I bought back in 1988? That charcoal gray, double-breasted beauty with the chalk line pinstripes?
Putting it on changed how I saw myself. I stood taller. I felt more confident. I looked in the mirror and saw a man growing into something new.
That’s what it means to be clothed with Christ.
You’re not pretending. You’re not performing.
You’re stepping into an identity that’s already been tailored for you by grace.
In baptism, we don’t just get wet—we get wrapped in something new.
A new self. A new family. A new future.
No Longer Jew or Greek…
Then Paul goes further.
He dismantles the ancient world’s deepest social and religious divisions:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
That’s radical.
In a world where Jew vs. Gentile meant insider vs. outsider…
Where slave vs. free meant power vs. powerlessness…
Where male vs. female meant voice vs. silence…
Paul doesn’t say those differences don’t exist—he says they no longer define us.
In Christ, your deepest identity is no longer your race, your status, or your gender—it’s your belonging.
You are one.
You are clothed.
You are God’s child.
Modern Binaries: What Divides Us Now?
Paul was naming the biggest divides in his culture.
What about ours?
There is no longer Democrat or Republican.
No longer blue-collar or white-collar.
No longer successful or barely hanging on.
No longer divorced or never-married.
No longer too broken or too far gone.
All of you who are in Christ—are one.
That doesn’t erase your story.
It just re-centers it around the cross.
You Belong to Christ. You Are an Heir.
Paul ends the chapter like this:
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
That’s the third time he’s said it.
It’s like he wants to make absolutely sure you know:
You’re not trying to find your place in God’s story.
You’re already in it.
You are not on the outside looking in.
You are clothed. You are known. You are home.
Closing This Section:
You may not always feel like you belong.
You may not always live like you’re enough.
But in Christ—you are.
Clothed. Chosen. Called.
One with Him, and one with each other.
That’s not just good theology.
That’s very good news.
Communion Conclusion: Clothed, United, and Invited
(Galatians 3:23–29 Response)
Transition from the Sermon to the Table:
So where does all this lead?
It leads here.
To this Table.
We began this morning talking about clothing—how what we put on can shape how we see ourselves.
Paul told the Galatians—and tells us—that we have been clothed with Christ.
That in Him, we are no longer separated by race, status, or gender.
We are not defined by political affiliation, social class, or past mistakes.
We are defined by belonging.
And this Table is the sign of that belonging.
Here, the ground is level.
Here, we don’t bring our résumés—we bring our hunger.
Here, we don’t strive—we receive.
This isn’t the Table of the worthy.
This is the Table of the invited.
And you are invited.
Invitation to the Lord’s Supper (Church of the Nazarene)
You who truly and earnestly repent of your sins,
who live in love and peace with your neighbors,
and who intend to lead a new life,
following the commandments of God
and walking in His holy ways—
draw near with faith,
and take this holy sacrament to your comfort.
Come not because you are strong,
but because you are weak.
Come not because you have earned a place,
but because Christ invites you to come,
clothed not in your righteousness,
but in His grace.
Words of Institution
Hear the words of the apostle Paul:
*"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you:
That the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,
and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,
'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'
In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying,
'This cup is the new covenant in My blood;
do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.'
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes."*
—1 Corinthians 11:23–26
Prayer of Consecration
Heavenly Father,
who out of Your great mercy gave Your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption:
We humbly thank You for His sacrifice,
and we ask You now to bless these elements of bread and cup.
May they be for us the Body and Blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood—
one with Him, one with each other, and one in ministry to the world.
Send Your Holy Spirit, Lord,
that we might be filled anew with grace,
clothed in Christ,
and renewed in love.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.
Distribution of the Elements
(Adapt based on your local practice—spoken as people come forward or are served.)
The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you—preserve you blameless unto everlasting life.
Take and eat in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you—preserve you blameless unto everlasting life.
Drink in remembrance that Christ’s blood was poured out for you, and be thankful.
Post-Communion Reflection:
You are not what the world says you are.
You are not defined by your mistakes, your achievements, or your circumstances.
You are not what others label you—or what you’ve labeled yourself.
You are clothed with Christ.
You are a child of God.
You are part of the family.
And at this Table, you are home.
Final Benediction (Call and Response Style):
Let us leave in faith, hope, and unity. And now, together, we pray:
We go with hope, because God goes before us.
We go with grace, because God is in us.
We go with certainty, because God is real.
And we go expecting great things,
because our God accomplishes the impossible.
Here we are, God—send us, we pray. Amen.
