Galatians 3 verses 15 to 29

 

Galatians 3 verses 15 – 29

Brethren I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but  man’s covenant, yet if it be conformed, no man disannulleth or added thereto.  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.  And this I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise but God gave it to Abraham by promise.  Wherefore then serveth the law?  It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.  Now a mediator is not a mediator of one but God is one.  Is the law then against the promises of God?  God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.  But before faith came, we were kept under the law shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us into Christ that we might be justified by faith.  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.  For ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female for ye are all one in Christ Jesus  And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Warren Wiersbe's style of presenting each passage in Galatians is something that I cherish. As I grew up in church I was used to a 4 or 5 point sermon which rhymed and Wiersbe does a  similar pattern. For instance in looking at Galatians 3 verses 15 to 29 Warren Wiersbe's points are:

 

The law cannot change the promise - verses 15 to 18

The law is not greater than the promise - verses 19 and 20

The law is not contrary to the promise - verses 21 to 26

The law cannot do what the promise can do - verses 27 to 29

 

What are the 2 words I will remember from this chapter? Law and promise. In fact the word promise is mentioned 8 times in these verses.

 

 

Been grappling with this last night and again today - For we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  I am a child of God today - how - by faith in Christ Jesus.  All the privileges of being a child in a family are mine!  Is that not mind blowing.  And what is even more precious is that later on in verse 28 we read "we are all one in Christ Jesus." United by faith.  Paul says that there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond (slave) nor free, neither male nor female.  The promise is mine today - is it yours?

 

Warren Wiersbe in these verses states that Paul makes 4 statements that help us understand the relationship between the promise and the law.  When we talk of the promise (and it is used 8 times here in this passage) we are referring to God's promise to Abraham given way back in Genesis 12.  A Jew clung to this promise (and still does) because it was so very important to their whole basis of faith.  Abraham was justified by faith and had all the blessings of salvation as a result of that promise - and remember this is long before Jesus came into the world to die for our sins.  That promise was given in 2000 BC whereas the law of Moses was given about 1450 BC.  The enemies of the believers in Galatia, the Judaizers implied that the giving of the law changed the original covenant of promise but Paul says it did not.  God made a covenant of grace with Abraham with no strings attached.  There was nothing he had to do, he didn't have to promise anything to God.  Moses could not alter the covenant, he cannot add anything to it nor can he take anything from it.

 

How do I apply all this to my life - how do you apply it?  So many today want to "add to their faith". They believe that faith in Christ is just not enough, there has to be something on our part.  They cannot accept that faith in Christ is all they need.  They will try with good works to others including giving to charity, attending church faithfully every week, even reading scripture and praying.  These are all brilliant in themselves but they do not add to our salvation.  They should actually be something we naturally want to do as a result of our faith.  Even now as I write this many would see what I am doing, writing about scripture as something necessary for salvation.  But it is not.  My faith is in Christ, what he has done on Calvary for my sins.  I am not worthy to be called his child but I am so very grateful that every day God reveals to me how much he loves me continually.  That spurs me on to find out the reason why - and that reason is contained in his scriptures.

 

When I look at photographs of special events such as my daughter's graduation I think of all the ceremony, the dressing up, photographs, speeches, celebrating with a meal.  So too the enemies in the Galatian church, the Judaizers wanted to remember how the law of Moses was given.  There was thunder and lightning, all the people trembled with fear.  Moses was shaking in his sandals - Hebrews 12 verses 18 to 21.  But Paul tried to show that the law which was given to Moses was only temporary - it was given until Jesus himself came to earth.  It was not permanent.  When Jesus died and rose from the grave the law was done away with.  When the law was given to Moses it actually regulated the lives of the Jewish people living in the wilderness at that time but it could not provide spiritual life.  The law was given to reveal sin and prepare the way for Christ.

 

Paul in this passage refers to the image of the "school master". This is an amazing picture - don't think of our school masters but rather in the context of the Roman and Greek household, a school master was someone who took the children to and from school every day.  They watched over them, protecting, prohibiting and disciplining the children.  They were well educated and could even teach the children.  They were still slaves, employed by the family.  This slave was not the father of the children but rather a guardian and disciplinarian.  When a child came to a certain age the slave was no longer needed.  This is what the law is like says Paul - it was only needed until Jesus himself came.  The demands of the law showed the people they still needed a Saviour.

 

Is it not amazing that we can read all those books in the bible like Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and realise that they all helped the Jews to live their lives as they passed through the wilderness and in to the promised land.  In fact if you look at some of those laws we still have them today.  The laws given through Moses were to help the people know how to live.  Jesus came to fulfil those laws and by looking to Jesus today we can learn how to live through Christ.

 

There is a story in the New Testament - Matthew 19 verse 16 about a rich young ruler - and this story helps us to understand what Galatians 3 is all about.  This young man had everything anybody could desire but he was not satisfied.  He had tried to keep the commandments all his life but still something was missing.  But these commandments brought him to Jesus one day.  He realised Jesus was the one who could show him what it was that was wrong in his life.  The sad thing is that the young man was not honest as he looked into the mirror of the law for the last commandment (Thou shalt not covet) escaped him and he went away without eternal life.

 

It is sad today but many are like this rich young ruler - they have everything they could possibly want in this world but know deep within their souls that something is missing.  We can have all the money of this world, the latest technology and cars, holidays several times in the year but know ... there is something more.  Or we could be people who try our very best to live a life that reflects our humility by giving away our riches to those in need, helping others who are not as well off and even being very religious.  But both types of people can still come to a point where they know it is not enough, there is something more.

 

The Jews in Jesus' day continually looked to the law for their fulfilment.  God had to finally destroy the temple and scatter the nation.  Today it is impossible for a devoted Jew to practice the faith of his fathers.  He has no altar, no priesthood, no sacrifice, no temple, no king.  All of these have been fulfilled in Christ so that any man - Jew or Gentile - who trusts in Christ becomes a child of God.  The law and the promise work together to bring sinners to the Saviour.