The Law and The Promise

Galatians 3:15-29

Introduction

This section of Galatians is often seen as dismissing the value of the law.

There is a danger here as well as other places to come away thinking that Paul thinks the law is actually the problem as opposed to sin being the problem.

But the Law has great value to accomplish everything it was meant to accomplish and only becomes a problem when people try to use it for purposes for which it was never intended.

Ultimately, it fails when people look to the Law as the end of itself instead of the thing that points to the end of itself.

How Wills Work

“I speak in human terms” (Gal. 3:15).

Paul is leaning on generally accepted truth.

He is building an argument on generally accepted truth.

He ISN’T saying “the Bible says this is how wills work.” He is saying this is a reality that everyone understands and needs no additional establishment.

You can do this when you have some baseline agreements about fundamental truth.

Seed is singular (Gal. 3:16).

The singularity of seed is a peculiar thing (Gen. 13:15; 17:8; 24:7).

As we put this together with what is said later in this context, I believe Paul is not saying seed referred to one man, but to one people defined by and through one man.

In other words, there are many seeds of Abraham including the Jews. But the seed of promise is the one that is in Christ.

This point will be further illustrated by Sarah and Hagar in the next chapter.

You can’t change a will 430 years after you ratify it (Gal. 3:17).

430 years (Ex. 12:40).

The Law would have been a MAJOR addition to God’s promise to Abraham.

The Law was never the means of fulfilling the promise (Gal. 3:18).

This doesn’t mean the promises weren’t accompanies by assumed conditions.

It just means that the Law couldn’t be those conditions. It didn’t exist at the time of the promise (cf. Rom. 4).

Later faith is going to be shown as the thing that connects us with the promise and not the Law.

The Law does not exclude faith, but rather is a way in a specific time and place to be faithful.

But faithfulness exists both before and after the Law. If you make the Law the condition of the promise then you have gotten the whole story and the relationship of faith and the Law backwards.

Why Then, the Law

To deal with transgressions (Gal. 3:19).

This phrase offers commentators a lot of difficulty and can be understood in a variety of ways.

Some of the options are:

To increase transgression (Rom. 5:20).

To define transgressions

To restrain people from transgressions (v. 23-24).

Or to deal with transgressions.

I believe the context points to the last one of these. That the Law was added in order to deal with sin but only for an interim period. It did not finally deal with sin but dealt with it in a way that pointed to a more final solution.

It offers a temporary solution to a universal problem.

It was administered through a mediator (Gal. 3:19-20).

At the same time he is pointing out this limited advantage of the Law, he points out that it was given through a mediator.

This is inferior to God’s direct interaction with Abraham.

We can see the emphasis of this mediation in Israel’s own declaration at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 20:19).

The point is that your relationship with God was not directly with God and therefore can be made superior or an upgrade to the promise made to Abraham.

It was not the source of life (Gal. 3:21).

This previously mentioned inferiority raises another question which answered in the negative. I don’t think Paul goes on here to answer why it isn’t contrary. Rather he dismisses the question with a kind of “that’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying this other thing.”

Did the Law produce righteousness or did it regulate life for the righteous?

Paul is correcting the former impression here.

Again, Abraham was not counted righteous because of the Law, rather, the Law (circumcision) was provided for the righteous.

God has always been the source of life. Not His Law.

It did not provide freedom from sin (Gal. 3:22-25).

The law did not leave Israel in a different position than anyone else (v. 22; cf. Rom. 3).

They are all under sin.

The emphasis of vs. 22 is on the promise.

The promise comes by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe (as opposed to the law).

But before that faith was came, the Law provided the function of holding Jews in a type of custody until that faith came (v. 23).

The Law provided instructive but also confining protection leading eventually to Christ (v. 24-25).

Heirs According to Promise

You are sons of God if you are in Christ (Gal. 3:26-27).

There are no distinctions in Christ (Gal. 3:28).

Being in Christ makes us the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:29).

Conclusion

So here is the great promise made to Abraham and to “all nations” and it is fulfilled not in circumcision or the Law, it is fulfilled in Christ.

So the question as we look at all of this is are you in Christ?

Are you baptized into Christ?

Are you living in Christ?