What the apostle calls "the works of the Torah " ("works of the Law")? The deeds of the righteous? The observation of the Torah and the execution of the commandments given by God? And why he opposes them to "the witness of faithfulness" (literally, the corresponding Greek word sounds" hearing of the faithfulness" or "hearing of faith")? To answer to the question, it is important to know what was implied in the time of Paul under "the works of the Torah". At first, it was about the observation of...
What the apostle calls "the works of the Torah " ("works of the Law")? The deeds of the righteous? The observation of the Torah and the execution of the commandments given by God? And why he opposes them to "the witness of faithfulness" (literally, the corresponding Greek word sounds" hearing of the faithfulness" or "hearing of faith")? To answer to the question, it is important to know what was implied in the time of Paul under "the works of the Torah". At first, it was about the observation of the commandments and about the works of righteousness. But with time, and in the process of a certain formalization of the religious life, so they began to call what today we would define as the religious duties. Here is, Paul opposes these religious duties to the witness of faith (or faithfulness, having in mind another meaning of the corresponding Greek work). In such a context the situation becomes more understandable: on one hand the witness, on the other - the religious duties. And at the same time, become more understandable the words of the apostle addressed to the church of Galatia. In fact, what relation can have the execution or the non-execution of the religious duties in the Kingdom?
Probably, the same like religion, as such. And in this respect, the same Paul always had a quite defined position. He was not of course against religion at all: after all he himself was a religious person, as every Jew of his time. But he was tremendously always against all the attempts to impose the religion to the Church and to his members in particular. The church for him was, according to his own words, "the body of Christ", and not a religious organization. It was composed not of men, professing this or that religion, but of men living in the kingdom. And the Kingdom is opened to all, independently of the religion, to enter there, it is necessary not the religion, but faithfulness to Christ, who brought the Kingdom in the world.
This is necessary and sufficient. And here is, now in the church, according to the sense of what is written by the apostle, there are people, who began to put in first place particularly the religion, the religious duties, as if the religion itself could save someone! And Paul gives to his coreligionists a completely regular, in such a situation, question: when you felt in yourselves the breath of the Kingdom, which made you different, new people, with what was connected this breath for you: with the testimony about Christ and what He has done for our salvation, or with any religion? And if so, then why you put region in the first place? Rhetorical question. And relevant. At all times.
3
3:2 This only would I learn of you - That is, this one argument might convince you. Did ye receive the witness and the fruit of the Spirit by performing the works of the law, or by hearing of and receiving faith?