Liberated- Part 9

Introduction- Galatians 3:15-22

Last week we considered the beginning of Paul’s argument relating back to Abraham and the law—a historical argument for the position of faith above law.

It is evident according to Old Testament scripture that Abraham was not declared righteous because of his works but rather because of his faith.

The scripture states that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.

This Paul references in order to show that even the one which the Jews held to be their father was not justified by the keeping of the law but by his faith.

The law could only condemn and could never save, but Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law becoming a curse for us so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

The passage before us today is a continuation of this argument for faith over the works of the law and Paul continues to set forward Abraham as proof of this truth.

This passage will also begin to explain the purpose of the law in God’s eternal plan of redemption and will show that the law is not contrary to the promise but is actually complementary to it.

A Simple Illustration (Vs. 15-18)

This passage opens with Paul sharing a simple illustration which will serve to clarify the point which he is attempting to make.

The phrase “I speak after the manner of men” is used to indicate that Paul intends to use a physical illustration to illustrate a spiritual truth.

The illustration he uses here is that of a “man’s covenant”—this terminology was most often used in relation to something akin to a last will and testament.

The point which is being made is that if a man should give his last will and testament and it should be confirmed, no man has a right then to come and disannul it nor does anyone have the right later to make additions to it.

Once the covenant has been confirmed, in the eyes of men it is binding and unchangeable.

If this be true of a covenant made by men, how much more true should it then be of a covenant made by God Himself.

When God makes a promise, as He did to Abraham, it is binding and unchangeable—nothing can disannul (make void) it and no one has any right to make additions to it.

The false teachers were attempting to do both these things— in teaching that the works of the law were necessary to justification they void the promise through their additions to it.

The false teachers were evidently insisting that the promise had been superseded by the giving of the law, but Paul will show that this is not the case.

It is important to note here the promise of which Paul is speaking—namely that in Abraham’s seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed.

Galatians 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

Genesis 22:17–18 “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

The point which Paul makes here in verse 16 is that the “seed” which the scripture speaks of through which all the nations would be blessed is Jesus Christ.

The promise was not made in relation to seeds as of many for the nations were not blessed by all the descendants of Abraham but through one descendant particularly which is of course Jesus Christ.

The point here is that the blessing spoken of does not come to the Gentiles through the Jewish people but through the singular person of Jesus Christ.

The law was given hundreds of years after the promise was made and yet the law was never intended to supersede the promise—rather it served another purpose entirely.

The promise which God made to Abraham and to his seed was not voided by the giving of the law or else the promise—having not yet been fully realized would have been rendered of none effect.

The fulfilment of the promise would only be finally and fully realized in the person of Christ.

The point Paul is making here is that the promise is still in effect even after the giving of the law—it had not been cancelled or voided through the law.

The giving of the law did not eliminate the need for the promises’ fulfilment in Christ.

In verse 18 we are again reminded that what God said he would do to and through Abraham was not in response to his keeping of the law, for the promise was made to him before the law was given, but was given by promise to Him.

If somehow now the inheritance is the result of the law then it would negate the promise which God made to Abraham.

The blessings which God gave to Abraham were not given because Abraham kept the law but because Abraham believed God’s promise.

The Purpose of the Law (Vs. 19-20)

The natural question which then arises is why then was the law given if not to supersede the promise?

The scripture here states that the law was added because of transgression—the idea being that the law was given so that men would become more keenly aware of their sin.

The law was never intended to be a means of justification or of receiving blessing from God—it was always meant to be a means by which men would be able to recognize their own sinfulness in the sight of God.

The law was never meant to play a permanent role but was only ever intended to play a temporary role until the seed (Christ) should come.

The promise was permanent where the law was only for a predetermined period of time—until Christ’s coming.

The law is said to be “ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator”—meaning it was given by God through the administration of angels and was placed in the hand of a mediator—Moses—who stood between God and the people.

This also shows that the law was subordinate to the promise because the promise was not contingent upon multiple parties but was given by God as the sole party responsible for its fulfillment.

The law had its usefulness but it was never meant to supersede the promise of God which was given to Abraham and his seed (collectively).

In every way the law was inferior to the promise and this is exactly as God intended it to be.

God’s promise to Abraham was not contingent upon Abraham but was entirely contingent upon God’s ability to fulfill the promise which He had made.

The blessings which Abraham and His seed were promised were not the product of their performance but were simply the product of their faith in God to do as He had promised.

Has God Contradicted Himself (Vs. 21-22)

The question which then arises is does the law conflict with the promise which God made to Abraham?

The obvious answer is no and in fact Paul gives an answer which is emphatic “God forbid.”

The fact is God would never contradict Himself and thus in giving the law, He never intended that it should conflict with the promise which was made to Abraham and his seed.

If there was a law which could have been given that had the power to give life then righteousness would have been by the law.

The obvious truth is that there is now law which could be given which has the power to give life to those who are spiritually dead—so as a result righteousness and justification cannot be found in the works of the law.

What the law does is conclude (confine) all men under sin—it reveals to all that they are guilty and condemned.

Romans 3:19–20 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The law does precisely what it was designed to do—it leads us to the conclusion that all are guilty and none are righteous in God’s sight.

This in turn makes us aware of our need of a savior—one who has the power to offer to us the forgiveness of sin and who can free us from condemnation.

This we will then find in Jesus Christ when we recognize that the only means by which we may be justified is through faith in Him.

The promise of righteousness, justification, and blessing is realized not through the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.

The promise is given to us in the same manner that it was given to Abraham—by believing God.

God made what seemed to be an impossible promise to Abraham and Abraham believed God and it was counted to Him for righteousness.

In the same manner God has promised to us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ and all that we must do to receive this promise is to believe God.

Conclusion

This passage proves that the law has not superseded the promise and that the promise is still recieved by simply believing God.

The law has not voided the promise of God—it has served its purpose in amplifying sin and making men more acutely aware of their need of a savior.

God did not institute the law in order to do away with the promise—rather the law was designed to reveal the hopelessness of self-reliance so that men would look to the Savior.

The law had a purpose but it was never to make men righteous or to justify them in the sight of God.

The law was always intended to be a means whereby men would recognize their own sinfulness.

The law declares that all are guilty and condemned but the promise of God is righteousness and justification to all those who will believe on Jesus Christ.