Law Vs. Promise

Greetings, everyone.

As we have been looking at Galatians 3, and Paul's arguments for the Promise made to Abraham as lasting, and the Law given to Moses as temporary. We will continue on now with verses 18-20.  In this passage, Paul asks what seems to be next obvious question:  If the Law is temporary, why have the Law at all?  Here is my translation:   

18 If the inheritance came from the Law, then it no longer came from the Promise, but God graciously gave Abraham a promise. 19 So then, why have the Law? The Law was added because of transgressions, until the one offspring should come, the one for whom the promise had been made, having been put in place by angels by the hand of an intermediary.  20 Now, an intermediary implies that more than one party is involved, but God is one. 

In verse 18, Paul begins talking about inheritance.  Being children of Abraham, we share in that inheritance. In Old Testament times, inheritance involved the land, becasue in an agricultural society, land is wealth.  Now, in this new paradigm, the inheritance is not land, but rather, it is Jesus, and all of the blessings that he provides.  So, as we continue, we will see more of Paul's contrast of The Promise and The Law. We see that The Promise supersedes the Law, and it is better, because the Promise brings Jesus and grace.  

In verse 18, Paul uses the Greek word κεχάρισται (kecharistai), a form of the word χαρίζομαι (charizomai), to talk about how God gave the Promise to Abraham.  Notice the resemblance to the Greek word for grace - χάρις (charis), the word for grace.   Κεχάρισται is often translated as “graciously given.”  God, in His grace, gave the promise to Abraham. So, the Promise is rooted in God’s grace.  Whereas, the Law is rooted in obedience.  

In verse 19, Paul goees ahead and asks the inevitable question, “If the Promise is binding, then why institute the Law?”  Then he answers it.  The Law was given because of transgressions.  In other words, the Law was given because we are, by nature, sinful.  The Law was necessary.  It had to be given, and very clearly plays a part in God’s redemptive plan. Without the Law we would not recognize our own sinfulness.  Without the Law showing us our inadequacies, would we recognize our need for God? In other words, the Law shows us our sinfulness, and therefore our need for God. 

The amount of transgressions that occur under the Law make it obvious that the Law is not the answer to our transgression problem. The Law certainly did show humanity's sinfulness, and it still does, but Paul makes the point that its function was to show this sinfulness until The One would come. The One, obviously Jesus, is the one of whom the Promise had been made.

Douglas Moo comments that throughout this series of verses Paul makes the case that the Law was in effect for a limited time and for a specific purpose. (Moo, 232.)  Later, when Paul writes the letter to the Romans, he says, “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” (Romans 7:12 NIV) Paul is not being anti-law.  He simply understood better than others the meaning and purpose of the Law.  He also understood our inability to live according to the Law, which makes God’s grace such important and fantastic news for us.  

The argument being made against Paul, a position held by many Jews of Paul's day, was that the Law was eternal. Paul is saying that the Law was temporary and the Promise, eternal, and that the Law, being temporary, concluded with the arrival of the one offspring, Jesus.  

The last phrase of verse 19 and verse 20, Paul talks about angels and a mediator that are involved in the giving of the Law, and ends with the statement that “God is one.” Paul’s meaning is not exactly clear. A quick look at Deuteronomy 32 might help us.  

Deut. 33:2 says, “The Lord came from Sinai
   and dawned over them from Seir;
    he shone forth from Mount Paran.
He came with  myriads of holy ones
    from the south, from his mountain slopes.

The words, “Holy ones” imply, as Paul also does, that there were many angels involved in the giving of the Law. 

Also, You might ask, “Who is this mediator that paul is speaking of?” There are different ideas, but the one that makes the most sense to me, since we are talking about the giving of the Law, is that the mediator is Moses.  Thomas Schreiner states that Paul’s meaning here is that “the law was given to Moses through angels, and Moses in turn mediated the law to the people.  (Schreiner, 243.) Schreiner's thoughts make sense here.  

Paul continues, explaining indirectly what mediators do: They mediate between two parties.  So the fact that there is a mediator implies that two parties are involved.  However, Paul concludes the argument with the statement, “but God is one.”  It seems like a clear reference to the Shema in Deut.6:4 “ hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”  Paul's point? God did not mediate the Promise to Abraham, He simply gave it.  Schreiner suggests here that Paul’s point is that the fact that the Law had a mediator shows that it is inferior to the Promise, which needed no mediator.  (Scheiner, 243.)

Paul has consistently used the Old Testament to prove his points, turning the various arguments of the Judaizing teaching on their respective heads.  He has been using Abraham, one of their great heroes.  He used the prophet Habakkuk, and now Moses and the Shema. he uses them effectively to point out that the Promise, grace, faith and Gentile inclusion into His inheritance have always been God’s plan for our salvation.  This is good news for us. 

Promise

 Greeting.

We will continue our examination of Paul's letter to the Galatians, today, by looking at chapter 3, verses 15-17.  Back in verse 6, Paul told his readers to consider Abraham.  That discussion of Abraham is ongoing, and now Paul going to bring in some logic to halp clarify his point.  Here is my translation: 

15 Brothers and sisters, to use an example of human thinking, once a man-made contract is agreed upon, no one can cancel it or add to it. 16 So when the promises were made to Abraham and his offspring, it didn’t say, “and to his offsprings,” meaning many, but rather, just one.  When saying, “And to your offspring,” he means, The Christ. 17 This is what I am saying, the God-given covenant, that had been confirmed 430 years earlier, was not nullified when the Law came. The Law did not cancel the promise.

Paul starts verse 15 off by addressing the Galatians as Ἀδελφοί (Adelphoi) or ‘Brothers and Sisters.”  He hasn’t addressed them in this way since early in the letter. (Gal. 1:11) This is a much kinder address than “O foolish Galatians!”  Paul may be exasperated, but he has not given up on them.  They are still his brothers and sisters in Christ.  

As Paul continues, he starts making his case for grace using a human example that they would all understand.  When making a contract or covenant, once agreed upon, the two parties are bound by it.  One party cannot suddenly change or cancel the contract.  So, when God made his covenant promise to Abraham, which was before the Law, it was not canceled out by the Law. God’s promise still stands.  Paul’s ultimate point here is that God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness all supersede the Law, and those things are prompted by our faith, just like it was in Abraham’s case. There is a subpoint to be made here:  If we all understand that a contract, or covenant, made by humans cannot be broken, how much more binding is a covenant made by God? 

In verse 17, the point is made that the Law came 430 years after the promise, and that when it was made, it did not nullify the promise.  Following Paul’s stream of logic here, if the Judaizers that were leading the Galatians astray, were actually correct, then the promise is cancelled by the Law, and we become justified through our lawkeeping.  

Thanks be to God that they are wrong, since the Law is impossible to keep in its entirety, unless you are God Himself.  

Verse 15 is linked to verse 17, and verse 16 sits between them as almost a parenthetical statement.  Paul makes the point that in the promise, the Greek word σπέρματι (spermati) (seed, descendant, offspring) is singular, not plural.  God’s promise is coming through one of Abraham;s descendants, and that one is Jesus, the Christ. 

This is an unusual way for Paul to phrase, since the word ‘offspring’ could be considered a collective singular, meaning all of his descendants. However, Paul uses this to make the case that when God made the promise to Abraham back in Genesis, that promise was referring to Jesus.  

Moving forward, we will continue to see Paul contrasting The Promise and The Law.  We will see that The Promise supersedes the Law, and, perhaps, more importantly, The Promise is better.  The Promise brings Jesus and grace.  

Freedom and Blessing

Hello everyone.

Today we will continue to go through Galatians 3, this time looking at verses 12-14:  Here is my translation: 

12 The law is not based on faith, but whoever keeps the law will live according to the Law.  13 The Christ has set us free from the curse of the law, by becoming cursed himself, on our behalf.  It is written. “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.” 14 So now, the Gentiles  can also receive the blessing of Abraham in Jesus Christ, so that we can receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

We looked in my previous at verse 11.  Let's tie verses 11 and 12 together.  Paul has established, quoting the prophet Habakkuk, that the righteous will live their faith.  Then, in verse 12 he points out that the Law is not based on faith.  We may not connect those dots right away, but what Paul is saying is actually somewhat obvious, because the Law is based on obedience, and obedience and faith are related, but on the same thing. Paul goes on to say that those who keep the Law will live according to the Law. This, too, is obvious. So, let’s follow the logic together.  Paul is presenting two ways of thinking here.  In one, our righteousness/justification is based on obedience to the Law, and the other it is based on living by faith.   Which one is God looking for?  Paul is telling the churches in Galatia, that God is looking for them to live by faith. In his commentary, Douglas Moo explains the connection like this, the righteous person finds life ‘through faith,’ but the Law is not a matter of ‘through faith.’ (Moo, 208.) 

Continuing on, in verse 13, Paul goes back to the discussion of being under a curse.  This time, however, the discussion is a little more encouraging for the Christian.  Paul states that, “Christ has freed us from the curse of the law.”  This is good news for us.  Those who live under the law are under the curse of law, but those who follow Jesus and live by faith are freed from this curse, because Jesus has taken on the curse upon himself on our behalf.  We do not have to suffer the penalty of this curse.  We, as Christians, can enjoy the benefit of Jesus’s redemptive work. This is something that we cannot earn through our obedience to the Law. 

Paul also refers to Deut. 21:22-23, when he says, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.” He is telling us that Jesus, in going to the Cross, took on the curse of the Law for us, and now, we have the responsibility to believe.

I think that at this point, we should qualify something.  As Paul has made his arguments, one could begin to minimize obedience.  Do we still need to be obedient?  Yes, of course we do. I don’t think Paul would ever have said that our freedom in Christ allows us to behave however we want, as long as we have faith. However, our thinking becomes different.  Our obedience becomes obedience prompted by our faith, not something that results out of a sense of duty, or in order to earn the blessings of Christ.  

In verse 14 Paul sums up two ideas central to what he has been talking about here. “So now, the Gentiles can also receive the blessing of Abraham in Jesus Christ, so that we can receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

The Gentiles can now enjoy the blessings of Abraham, just like the Jews.  The Gentiles receive this association, not through their connection to Judaism and the Law, but through their faith in Jesus.  

Secondly, we can now receive God’s Spirit through faith. Paul reaches back to the beginning of the chapter (verses 1-5) where he makes the point that when they first became Christians and received the Holy Spirit, it wasn’t because of their obedience to the Law that they received the Spirit, it was because of their faith.  (Their attempts to fall in line with the Old Law actually came after they had already received the Spirit.)  

Douglas Moo makes this statement about v. 14: “Paul’s association of union with Christ and faith as the way in which all God’s blessings are enjoyed….Paul ultimately insists that both the Abrahamic blessing and the Holy Spirit are experienced both ‘in Christ’ and ‘by faith.’ (Moo, 215.) Well said.  Let us make sure that we are enjoying these blessings that come 'in Christ' and 'by faith.' 

The Righteous Will Live By Faith

Hello everyone

We will continue our look at Galatians 3 by focusing on verse 11, where Paul quotes the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk.  Here is my translation:  "It is obvious that the Law does not make anyone righteous before God, instead, “the righteous will live by faith.” 

In verse 11, Paul uses a Greek δῆλον (dēlon). This word means, “clear to the understanding, clear, plain, evident.” In my own translation, I have used the word ‘obvious.’ The point is, it should be clear, or obvious, to us that the Law does not make us righteous.  Paul then quotes from Habakkuk 2:4, “the righteous will live by faith.” 

Hab. 2:4 is obviously an important scripture reference.  Paul quotes it twice.  Here in Gal. 3:11 and Romans 1:17.  The Hebrew writer quotes it as well in Heb. 10:38.  

In his commentary on Galatians, Moo comments on Hab. 2:4 as well, “In its original context, Hab. 2:4b, appears to be an implicit call on the faithful among the people of Israel to look beyond the confusing and depressing circumstances of their historical situation and to ‘live’ on the basis of steadfast faithfulness in the Lord and His encouraging revelation.” (Moo, 206.)  

Habbakkuk's words, and Moo's reflection on them, certainly still apply to us, here and now. So, it might be good to take a moment and reflect on Hab. 2:4. 

In earlier verses in Habbakkuk's prophecy, Habakkuk has complained to God about the abundant unrighteousness that he saw around him in Israel. God responds to Habakkuk’s complaint, saying that He was preparing the Babylonians to deal with the unrighteousness in Israel. 

Habakkuk understandably complains again.  The Babylonians are even more unrighteous than the Israelites.  Why would a righteous God allow them to have the power? God’s response is basically, you let me worry about the Babylonians.  The righteous will live by faith.  (2:4)  God used the Babylonians to accomplish His purposes and then He deals with them.  God, as always, is in control. 

The whole of 2:4 reads, “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness” While God is using the Babylonians for His purposes, He does recognize their arrogance (puffed up) and their unrighteousness (not upright.)  There is a clear contrast here between the “puffed up, not upright” and the “righteous, faithful.”   We definitely, want to make sure that we are on the right side of that one.  

This principle still applies.  We may not understand how God works through unrighteous people, but He still does.  In our generation, God is at work, even when it seems that He is not. Things happen that we do not understand, and we question God.  He will listen to our complaint, but in the end, He’s got this.  Our responsibility is to trust Him.

In the end of Habbakuk, he submits to God’s sovereignty.  God has heard his complaints and responded, and not how Habakkuk would have wanted him to.  Never-the-less, in 3:17-18, he says this: 

Though the fig tree does not bud

   and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

    and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

    and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk has learned to trust God no matter what.  He rejoices in God even though we might look at his situation  and wonder what he has to rejoice about. He is faithful and God, like He did with Abraham, will credit it to him as righteousness. May we imitate such faith. 

Under a Curse

Greetings.

Today we will continue our examination of Galatians 3, looking at one verse and commenting.  We are still in the middle of Paul's comparison of God's promise to Abraham and the Law. He wants his readers to understand that the Promise is greater than the Law.   

This is my translation of Galatians 3:10:  "For those who base their righteousness on works of the Law are under a curse.  It is written, 'Those who fail to obey all that is written in the book of the law are under a curse.'"

Here in verse 10, Paul tells us that those who base their righteousness on the works of the Law are under a curse.  He uses an Old Testament quote to furhter his argument that if you base your righteousness on the Law, then you are bound to obey all of it, and this is something that is impossible for us to do.  Paul references Deut. 27:26, “Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.” 

In the Old Testament, the Nation of Israel was told that failure to obey the Law would place them under a curse and even lead to them being removed from the land.  This all happened, of course.  They disobeyed the Law and were expelled from the land.  

Paul’s point here is that if our justification comes from obedience to the Law, we will always fall short and are therefore under a curse.  Faith, however, is a different matter.  In his commentary on Galatians, Doulas Moo explains it this way, “Paul here suggests that he has moved to a deeper and more universal issue: “the law provides no basis for the blessing because it involves ‘doing’; a ‘doing’ that humans find to be impossible.” (Moo, 204.)  It is a situation in which, no matter much we do, we cannot possibly hope to succeed. 

This is the thing that we have to understand here.  We cannot base our standing with God on the things that we do.  We can’t read our Bible, pray, worship, serve or share our faith enough to be considered righteous. My discipleship does not and cannot save me.  Only God’s grace can do that.  My role in this is to accept that grace through faith. Plus, I know that I am far too leaky a vessel to fully obey the Law, therefore if that is what I base my standing with God on, I will live under a curse, and I will feel guilty all the time, due to my perpetual failure to measure up.  

I chose God’s graciousness over that. 

The Blessing of Abraham

Greetings.

We will continue our examination of Galatians 3 today.  In verses 6-7 we looked at how Abraham beleived in God's promises and it was credited to him as righteousness.  Paul continues using Abraham to make his arguments in verses 8-9.  Here is my translation: 

8 The Scriptures foretold this, seeing beforehand that God would justify the Gentiles, by faith.  He preached this gospel ahead of time to Abraham, “Through you all nations will be blessed.” 9 So then, those who have faith are blessed right alongside Abraham, the faithful one.

God had, indeed, chosen the Israelites to be his people. However, within their role as His chosen people,  they were to be a light to the Gentile nations.  (See Isa. 42:6, 49:6)  They were supposed to show the rest of the world the way to God, but this was a role that they never really seemed to understand.  Anyway, Paul says in verse 8 that in the Scriptures, going all the way back to Abraham, this development had all been foretold.  

According to Paul. when God promised Abraham that through him all nations would be blessed, back in Genesis 12:3, God was foretelling that the time would come when God justified, even Gentiles, through their faith. The promise was not that just Abraham’s descendants (the Jews) would be blessed, but all nations would be. Paul is saying that from the beginning it had been God’s intention to bless and include the Gentiles into His kingdom. So, those who have faith, regardless of ethnicity, are children of Abraham, and are blessed right alongside him (verse 9). 

Paul’s discussion of Abraham certainly provides us with a scriptural basis for the inclusion of Gentiles into God’s kingdom, but more importantly he is using Abraham to show that the blessings of God, for Jew and Gentile alike, are accessed through our faith rather than through obedience to the Law. (Moo, 200.)  John Stott further points out that we are doubly blessed, we receive justification (verse 8), but we also have the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (verses 2-5).  These two gifts come to us together. (Stott, 74.) 

In his commentary on Galatians, Thomas Schreiner makes a valid point. When Paul talks about Abraham’s faith, he is not talking about “an abstract belief in God, but belief in God’s promises.”  (Schreiner, 194.)  It is the same for us.  Our faith must be more than belief in God’s existence, but a genuine belief that His promises are good and they will be kept.  This is place where you have to ask yourself, "Am I really trusting in God's promises?"  Of course, this is where it gets difficult.  Those who believe God’s promises will act on that belief, but it is not the doing that God recognizes, it is the believing. 

Schreiner further points out that verse 7 and verse 9 may seem repetitive, but the message is slightly different, telling us first that faith makes us children of Abraham (v. 7), and secondly, that faith allows us to share in Abraham’s blessing (v. 9). (Schreiner, 195.)  So, in this short section going from verses 6 to 9, we can see two very important, and very cool things that come from our faith.  1) We become children of Abraham and 2) we share in his blessing.  

Credited as Righteousness

Hello everyone.

We will continue in Galatians 3 as Paul uses Abraham to make his case.  Here is my translation of Gal. 3:6-7: 

 6 Consider Abraham.  He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. 7 You should know then, that those who are of  faith are the children of Abraham. 

Paul restates what Genesis 15:6 says about Abraham.  “He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  Note that it does not say, “He obeyed the Law and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 

Abraham and Sarah are well past childbearing age when this story starts, 75 and 65 respectively.  When God promises him offspring that outnumber the stars in the heavens, Abram believes the promise, even though it seems so ridiculous that such a promise could be true. God blesses Abraham's faith. Douglas Moo explains it this way, “God graciously viewed Abraham’s faith as having in itself fulfilled all that God expected of Abraham in order for him to be in the right before God.”  (Moo, 188.) Moo’s point is that for the Galatians, it was their faith, not their adherence to the Law that led them to be in a right relationship with God. 

Paul follows in verse 7 with “You should know then, that those who have faith are the children of Abraham”. So, when we are like Abraham, and live by our faith, we become his children, whether we are Jew or Gentile.  

By using Abraham here, Paul is using one of the big heroes of the Jewish faith and of these agitators and making his arguments against their teachings. They were probably using Abraham in their arguments for circumcision, saying that the covenant established in Genesis 17 was still binding. But Paul uses Abraham's story of faith to demolish their arguments.  

Food for thought: 

• Abraham was considered righteous at 75 because he believed God’s promise.  He was 99 when he was circumcised.  It was his faith, not his circumcision that made him righteous.  He obeyed, and submitted to circumcision because of his faith.  Abraham was considered righteous for 24 years before his circumcision.
• In John 8:31 and following Jesus has a discussion with a group of Jews that involves many of the same themes that Paul is using here in Galatians 3, Abraham, slavery and freedom.  His audience claimed Abraham as their father and stated that they had never been slaves of anyone.  Jesus challenges their claims, saying that they were not really free and not really Abraham’s children. Soon they resort to insults and name-calling, and eventually pick up stones to kill him. 

Anyway, back to Paul.  He is saying in verse 7, that being a Jew doesn’t make you a child of Abraham, faith does.  Ethnicity has nothing to do with it.  Now, anyone can be a child of Abraham, if they have faith. So it is faith, not adherence to the Law that 1) justifies us and 2) makes us children of Abraham.

The phrase in Greek that Paul uses here is Οἱ Ἐκ Πίστεως (hoi ek pisteōs) A literal translation would be “those of faith.”  I translated it as “those who are of faith” to make the English a little smoother, but either way, the meaning is clear.  Moo describes like this, those “whose identity is derived from faith.” (Moo, 197.) I would say like this, “those who view life through the lenses of faith are the children of Abraham and are justified.” So, just as Abraham’s standing before God came because of his faith, so it is with us, as well.