Galatians 3:3

3:3 Are you so foolish? Although you began ¹  with ²  the Spirit, are you now trying to finish ³  by human effort? ⁴ 

Galatians 4:6

4:6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls ⁵  “Abba! ⁶  Father!”

Galatians 5:16

5:16 But I say, live ⁷  by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. ⁸ 

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¹ tn Grk “Having begun”; the participle ἐναρξάμενοι (enarxamenoi) has been translated concessively.

² tn Or “by the Spirit.”

³ tn The verb ἐπιτελεῖσθε (epiteleisqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534). This is something the Galatians were attempting to do, but could not accomplish successfully.

⁴ tn Grk “in/by [the] flesh.”

⁵ tn Grk “calling.” The participle is neuter indicating that the Spirit is the one who calls.

⁶ tn The term “Abba” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic אַבָּא (’abba’), literally meaning “my father” but taken over simply as “father,” used in prayer and in the family circle, and later taken over by the early Greek-speaking Christians (BDAG 1 s.v. ἀββα).

⁷ tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

⁸ tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.