Galatians Chapter 3

Vs. 1-5…The Holy Spirit now turns from Paul’s controversy with Peter in chapter 2 to his controversy with the Galatians. He wants to correct their thinking about grace doctrine. The problem was they wanted to add the dispensation of the Law of Moses to the dispensation of the grace of God. Paul called them foolish and bewitched for doing this. If people were confused about law and grace Paul was not to blame. From his first recorded sermon at what was evidently a large Jewish synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia he clearly told them… "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). Even though the Law of Moses was a foundational part of the covenant God made with Israel, it could not justify you with God. "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:11-14) Why did the priests stand daily? Because their work was never done. You can be as religious as you please every day of your life and you can work as hard as you please, but you will never finish your task of saving yourself through religion. It was Christ alone, who finished the work of salvation for man.

Question--- "This only would I learn of you, received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Gal. 3:2). Paul had taught them salvation by grace through faith, but other “preachers” were teaching them the Kingdom Gospel. This mixture was unacceptable to Paul. It was hard for some believers to accept that the finished work of Christ had abolished the need for circumcision. The Church has a similar problem. Water baptism has been done away by Christ's redemptive work but there are many who want to add it to His finished work as a picture of our identification with Christ and a first step of obedience as a Christian. "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body" (I Cor. 12:13).

Vs.6-9…This passage from Genesis 12:3 does not seem to prove the point Paul is making in the context. The argument of the passage as a whole - that God justifies believers – seems clear enough; but how does God's promise to bless all nations through Abraham prove that the Gentiles were to be justified by faith? If there is anything that stands out in the record of Abraham's life it is the fact that he believed God. To the Jew, who goes about to establish his own righteousness by religious works, and boasts of circumcision, Paul reminds them, "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: 12: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. 13: For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (Rom. 4:11-13). It was because God had chosen Abraham as the great example of faith that He said, "in thee shall all nations be blessed.”

It was "the obedience of faith" that God desired, and every Jew could look back to his father Abraham to learn this lesson, for Abraham had been justified by faith apart from works; therefore his works were only an expression of his faith.

Vs.10-14…It is the function of the law to condemn---not to justify. Obviously, if everyone did what was right, we would not need law. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote: "...the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient” (I Tim. 1:9). The function of law is to put point out sin and condemn it. There is a great illustration of this point in Deut. 27. God had the children of Israel march between two mountains before entering the land of Canaan to teach them an important lesson about law and grace. God divided the Levites into two groups; one group stood on Mt. Gerizim and blessed the people, while the other group stood on Mt. Ebal with copies of the Law and pronounced curses on those who disobeyed the Law. This is why Paul quoted from this passage in Galatians 3:10: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”

Man always wants to do something. Obviously none of us has perfectly kept the law of God, so the apostle said that if you are trying to be saved by keeping the law, you are under a curse: "That no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:11). The verse from Habakkuk (2:4) which Paul quoted was very well known to them. In fact, he used this quotation several times in his epistles. This was the great verse that shook Martin Luther's theology to its foundation. It had such a profound effect on his life that he had it woven into the napkins at his table, the pillows about his house, the dishes and silverware and he even had it woven into the cuffs of his sleeves so that when he sat down to read or write he would see those words, "The just shall live by faith.”

When a working man gets his salary at the end of the week, he does not feel that the boss has given him some special gift. He earned his wages! "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt; To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works” (Rom. 4:4-6). "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them” (Gal. 3:11,12). Verse 12 is a quotation from Leviticus 18:5. Paul demands that the Galatians make a choice. If we want to be saved by the law we must keep it all perfectly and continue to do so. If we break it once, all hope is gone. Since we cannot keep it there is only one alternative for salvation---You must believe the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ--- the only One who ever kept the law perfectly and then died as a law-breaker.

Question---What did Paul mean by vs.14? Why did he not say that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law that the blessing of Israel might come on the Gentiles? Simply because Israel also was condemned by the law. And what about the last part of the verse…"That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith?” We read in I Corinthians 2:9-10: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him, But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit...” Some people think that verse 9 refers to heaven, but it refers to this present dispensation of grace in which we now live. God reveals mystery truth to us by His Spirit.

Vs. 15-18…Paul has been saying that the only way that we can receive salvation is by faith. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, and those who also believe, like Abraham, are blessed along with him. Even though God added law to the covenant---the initial covenant cannot be made null and void. The writer of Psalm 130 understood this principle. "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” (Psa. 130:3). He realized that whatever these commandments of the law meant, whatever they signified, whatever they entailed, they could not possibly make the promise to Abraham void. "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.” (Rom. 4:6).

Question---When the law was given and God said, "If you obey this law and keep it perfectly, then you shall be my people," what should the people of Israel have answered? They should have said, "Lord, on this basis none of us can be saved, because we cannot keep that law perfectly. Have mercy upon us. Surely you will not break your promise. But in their pride and folly all the people responded, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Ex. 19:8) Before Moses arrived down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel were dancing like pagans around a golden calf, an Egyptian god. Moses reminded them that they were the only nation that ever heard the voice of God speaking to them. Mount Sinai was engulfed in smoke, it quivered and shook, and the people backed away: “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord Thy God... Thou shalt have no other gods before me!” (Ex. 20:1-3).
These scriptures illustrate the impossibility of Israel being able to be justified by the law.

Question---If God did not mean to enforce the law, why did He make this covenant with Israel? Galatians 3:19, begins to answer - "It was added because of transgression.” "By the law is the knowledge of sin" and it was given "that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful” (Rom. 3:20; 7:13). In Galatians, Paul is driving them back to the promise, to faith. This is what God had in mind all the while, as we saw in Galatians 3:13 concerning the impossibility of salvation by good works. When God gave the law, which was bound to break fellowship between Him and Israel, He immediately began to make arrangements for a Tabernacle where He could restore fellowship with Israel. The first article of furniture for the Tabernacle was the Ark. The word "ark" is simply the word "coffin." It is translated "coffin" in the last verse of Genesis. So, when God commanded the building of a tabernacle, the first thing He said was "Make me a coffin." "And thou shalt put into the coffin the testimony (law) which I shall give thee” (Ex. 25:16). God immediately put the law in a coffin. On top of the coffin was the blood sprinkled mercy seat. There God said, "I will meet with my people." The law in a coffin! God later nailed the law to the cross. "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” (Col. 2:14).

Vs. 16…What is the explanation of Paul's words: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” A little girl asked her mother: "Mother, if God didn't mean what He said, why didn't He say what He meant?" God reveals a secret that provides a satisfying answer. Israel will never become the world's blesser until she does so through Christ because the blessing of the world is wrapped up in Him alone. All blessing is centered in Him and must be found in Him. God has been demonstrating this for the past nineteen hundred years. II Cor. 5:17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature....” Gal. 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God3, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

God has been teaching this lesson, and not until Israel sees it and stops trying to "establish her own righteousness," humbly receiving Christ and the riches of His grace, will the blessing overflow to other nations. When Israel acknowledges Christ as her Messiah, then all nations will be blessed through Israel, through Christ! Paul reveals that the multiplied seed could not in themselves prove a blessing to the world. It is redeemed Israel that will bless the world (Zech. 8:13; Rom. 11:26). The word "seed," in Galatians 3:16, while singular in form ("Not many.. .but one"), is still plural in fact; we use the word "seed," whether of one single seed or of a bag-full.

Vs. 19-21…The law does not stop you from sinning, nor help you to be good. It rather stirs up the adamic nature to do that which is bad. The same man that said, "There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1) also said, "...For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.[16] If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. ” (Rom. 7:15,16) Paul did not blame the law; he blamed himself.

"...and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator” (vs.19). Moses was the mediator. The law of Moses, or the covenant of the law, was a temporary institution; it was added until Christ came to take it out of the way (Col. 2:14). Paul's epistles have much to say about this. The law is called "the ministration of death," and "the ministration of condemnation" which the Apostle declares is "done away" and "abolished" by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Cor. 3:7,9,11,13). "Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace” (Eph. 2:15). "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross (Col. 2:14). It is Paul who is first to state that the believer is "dead to the law," "delivered from the law," and thus "free from the law" (Rom. 7:1-6). No wonder He declared: "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).

God's Word will stand forever; but as a covenant the law is a curse, for it can only condemn you. Christ bore that curse for us, and He stripped the law of all its claims against us, paying the price of the broken law Himself. Therefore the law was a temporary institution.

A mediator is a go-between, and Moses was the mediator between God and Israel. He went up into the mountain to talk to God; he went down again to talk to Israel. This leads Paul to an important conclusion: "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one” (vs. 20). God is one, and long before the law had been given He alone made unconditional promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those promises did not consist of a contract between two persons. The contract was on God's side: "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” (Gen. 22:17,18). There was no mediator needed for that.

The covenant of law was different. God said that “if” they obeyed His voice and kept His covenant "then” they would be His special people (Ex. 19:5). This meant that two parties were involved in a contract - God and Israel. Moses was the mediator. Paul brought up the next question, "Is the law then against the promises of God?” He answers, "God forbid." The law is not against the promises, "for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (vs. 21). In other words, if you could have saved yourself by fully obeying God's law, there would have been no problem at all. God would say, "Go ahead. You do not need Me; you can save yourself." No such law could be given. This is why Paul argued in Galatians 3 that the law was a temporary institution or we would all perish.

"For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity” (I Tim. 2:5-7). God saved the chief of sinners, the one who was leading Israel in rebellion. He did not destroy him as an enemy, but saved him; by doing so, God showed what the cross had accomplished. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3).

Vs. 24-25…The word "schoolmaster" means one who is a child-trainer. It was the individual who, in Bible times, was given strict supervision over little boys' conduct and morals. If a boy did not obey, or if he misbehaved, he felt the schoolmaster's wrath. The trainer was expected to discipline the child as necessary with penalties. The sense of verse 24 is that the law was our tutor until Christ, "that we might be justified by faith.” Verse 25 points out that after faith is come we are no longer under a tutor. It points out again that the law was only a temporary institution. God is now dealing with men in pure grace. The apostle declared in II Corinthians 5:18-19: "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

A Dispensational Change…In vs.17-25 there are several words having to do with time and God's changes in dispensation: Vs. 17-"before" "after." The Abrahamic covenant was made about 2,000 years after Adam and we see that there had already been two changes in God's administration. Four hundred years after that God gave the law through Moses. Vs. 19-"added" "until." The law was a temporary addition to the promises made to Abraham. These are dispensational words - words that show that God (although He is Himself unchangeable), has changed His dealings with men from time to time through the centuries.

Vs. 23- "before" and "after". The Apostle said, "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.”

Vs. 25- "But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” Paul uses another dispensational term in Romans 3:21: "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested.” As you study your Bible, do not forget that God has dealt differently with men through the successive periods of history, teaching one lesson at a time. There has been no change in dispensation since Paul. He set Israel aside as a nation temporarily, and has since been dealing with the Gentiles.

Vs.26-29…What this passage says is that all who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus are the children of God: This is the great argument of Paul's letter to the Galatian assemblies. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (vs.27). The verse begins "For" rather than 'And." It is not an additional thing which you must do. Paul wrote to the Romans…"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” (Rom. 6:3). What does it mean to be baptized into Christ? The meaning is found in I Corinthians 12:13 where we read "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body”. We know what that baptism means: when we trust Christ the Holy Spirit makes us one with the rest of the Body of Christ. We belong to the Church which is His Body.