What is the Purpose of the Law? (preaching resource for 6/22/25, second Sunday after Pentecost)
This post exegetes Galatians 3:15-29, providing context for the Epistles reading on 6/22/25. the second Sunday after Pentecost. Insights are drawn from "The Message of Galatians" by John Stott.
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| "St. Paul, the Apostle" (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) |
Introduction
In the second half of Galatians chapter 3, Paul continues to make it clear that salvation is a free gift of God, received through faith in Christ crucified, apart from any human merit. He is emphasizing this because Judaizers were teaching that to be Christian a person must add to faith in Jesus 'the works of the law'—a phrase referring to being Torah-observant (including such things as circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, food laws, etc.). But Paul insists that Christians are not required to become Jews in order to be followers of Jesus. In fact, to use the Law of Moses as a sign of Christian identity and as a means to improve one’s standing with God is, ironically, a misuse of the Law itself.
To make his point, Paul surveys biblical history from Abraham to Moses (Moses being the ‘intermediary’ alluded to in Gal. 3:19). God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees. He promised that He would give him innumerable 'seed' (progeny); that He would bestow on him and on his seed a land, and that in his seed all the families on earth would be blessed. These great promises of God to Abraham were confirmed to Abraham's son Isaac, and then to Isaac's son Jacob. But Jacob died outside the Promised Land, in Egyptian exile, to which a famine in Canaan had driven him. Jacob's twelve sons died in exile too. Centuries passed. A period of 430 years is mentioned (Gal 3:17), which refers to the duration of bondage in Egypt (Ex.12:40; cf. Gen. 15:13; Acts 7:6). Finally, centuries after Abraham, God raised up Moses, and through him both delivered the Israelites from their slavery and gave them the Law at Mount Sinai.
By recounting this history, Paul is noting that God's dealings with Abraham and Moses were based on two different principles. To Abraham He gave a promise ('I will show you a land...I will bless you...', Gen. 12:1, 2). But to Moses He gave the Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments. In the promise God said, 'I will...I will...I will...' But in the Law God said, 'Thou shalt...thou shalt not...'. The promise sets forth God's plan, God's grace, and God’s initiative to fulfill the promise. The Law speaks to man’s duty, man's works, and man’s responsibility. The promise had only to be believed to be received. But the Law had to be obeyed in order for it’s blessings to be actuated in the life of a person under the Law. God's dealings with Abraham were in the category of 'promise', 'grace' and 'faith'. But God's dealings with Moses and Israel under the Law were in the category of 'law', 'commandments' and 'works'.
Paul’s point is that the Law and the promise must be carefully distinguished. Failing to do so corrupts Christian doctrine. Christianity is grounded in and pertains to the promise given to Abraham and not to the Law given through Moses. Christians enjoy today the promise which God made to Abraham centuries ago. They are not called to define their life in Christ by the works of the Law.
But what, then, is the purpose of the Law for a Christian? Paul gives a two-part answer. In Gal. 3:15-18 he teaches that the Law did not annul the promise of God. Then in Gal 3:19-22 he teaches that the Law illuminated God's promise and actually made it indispensable.
The Law does not annul the promise
Galatians 3:15-18
Paul begins (Gal. 3:15) with a *human example*; an ‘everyday illustration' (JBP), that concerns the idea of a will. The Greek word in verses 15 and 17 (*diatheke*) is translated 'covenant' in the AV, but meant ‘will’ in classical Greek and is so translated in the RSV. Paul’s point in this illustration is that the wishes and promises expressed in a man’s will are (as was the case in ancient Greek law) unalterable. How much more is God’s promise unchangeable?
God promised an inheritance to Abraham and his posterity. Paul knew perfectly well that the immediate, literal reference of this promise was to the land of Canaan, which God was going to give to Abraham's physical descendants. But he also knew that this was not the ultimate reference in God's mind. Indeed, it could not have been, for God said that in Abraham's seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, and how could the whole world be blessed through the Jews living in the land of Canaan? Paul realized that both the 'land' which was promised and the 'seed' to whom it was promised were ultimately spiritual. God's purpose was not just to give the land of Canaan to the Jews, but to give a spiritual inheritance (salvation) to believers who are in Christ. Further, Paul argues, this truth was implicit in the word God used, which was not the plural 'children' or 'descendants', but the singular 'seed' or 'posterity', a collective noun referring to Christ and to all those who are in Christ by faith (Gal. 3:16).
God's promise was thus free and unconditional. There were 'no strings attached.' There were no works to do, no laws to obey, no merit to establish, no conditions to fulfill. God simply said, 'I will give you a seed. To your seed I will give the land, and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.' His promise was like a will, freely giving the inheritance to a future generation. And like a human will, this divine promise is unalterable. It is still in force today, for it has never been rescinded. God does not make promises in order to break them. He has never annulled or modified his will.
We are now ready to consider Gal 3:17: *This*, Paul continues, *is what I mean: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void*. If the Judaizers were right, our Christian inheritance (justification) is given to those who live under the Law of Moses; but, according to Paul, if it is 'by the Law, it is no longer by promise', because you cannot have it both ways. *But God gave it to Abraham by a promise* (Gal. 3:18). Notice that He 'gave' it. The Greek word *kecharistai* emphasizes both that it is a free gift (a gift of *charis*, 'grace') and that it has been given permanently (the perfect tense). God has not gone back on His promise. It is as binding as a man's will; indeed, more so. So every sinner who trusts in Christ crucified for salvation, quite apart from any merit or good works (including being Torah-observant), receives the blessings of favor and fellowship with God and thus inherits the promise of God made to Abraham.
Paul emphasizes this point by noting that after God gave the promise to Abraham, He added, hundreds of years later, the Law through Moses. The promise stood entirely apart from the Law. But why was the Law added? The answer is that God sought not to add a requirement to the promise, but to expose man for what he truly is in order that the value of the promise could be made even clearer. The Law was added, not as a means to achieve the promise, but to expose, provoke and condemn sin. The purpose of the Law was, as it were, to lift the lid off man's respectability and disclose what he is really like underneath - sinful, rebellious, guilty, under the judgment of God, and helpless to save himself.
The Law illumines the promise of God and makes it indispensable
Galatians 3:19-22
Paul goes on to elaborate on the function of the Law of Moses in relation to the promise. He does so by asking and answering two questions:
Question 1: 'Why then the law?' (19-20)
One can almost hear the indignant expostulation of the Judaizers, saying something like this: 'Really, Paul, you are the limit! If it is through faith only that a man is in Christ and becomes a beneficiary of God's promise to Abraham, what is the point of the Law? Your theology so fuses Abraham and Christ, that you squeeze out Moses. There's no room for the Law in your gospel. You wicked antinomian, your gospel of grace is blasphemy! You are "teaching men everywhere against...the Law"' (Acts 21:28).
But Paul had his answer ready. The Judaizers misunderstood and misrepresented his position. He was far from declaring the Law unnecessary, for he was quite clear that it had an essential part to play in the purpose of God. But the function of the Law was not to bestow salvation. Rather its God-given function was to convince men of their need for salvation.
Paul’s own statement of the purpose of the Law is given in verse Gal 3:19: *Why then the law? It is added because of transgressions*. Or as he wrote in Romans: 'through the law comes knowledge of sin' (Rom. 3:20). The Law's main work is to expose sin. It is the Law of Moses which turns 'sin' into 'transgression', showing it up for what it is, a breach of the holy Law of God. 'It is added to make wrongdoing a legal offence' (verse 19, NEB). It was intended to make plain that sin is a revolt against the will and authority of God. And it was added long after the promise was given to Abraham and his descendents and for only a specific duration of time: *till the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made* (Gal. 3:19). Thus, the Law was a temporary addition to the promise, looking forward to Christ, Abraham's seed, as the Person through whom transgression (made evident by the Law) would be forgiven—not through obedience to the Law, but through trust (faith) in Christ.
The rest of verse 19 and verse 20 emphasize the inferiority of the Law to the promise. Paul says that the law 'was promulgated through angels, and there was an intermediary' (verse 19b, NEB). The activity of angels in connection with giving of the Law is mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 68:17; Acts 7:53 and Hebrews 2:2. The 'intermediary' is doubtless Moses. So when God gave the Law He spoke through angels and Moses. There were two intermediaries. But when God spoke the promise to Abraham He did it direct, and that is probably the meaning of the phrase *God is one* (Gal. 3:20).
Question 2. 'Is the law then against the promises?' (21-22)
This second question seems to be addressed to the Judaizers by Paul. He is accusing them of making the Law contradict the gospel—the promise of God. Their teaching was: 'keep the law and you will gain life.' But Paul disagrees vehemently. Their position was purely hypothetical: *if a law had been given which could make alive, then righteousness would indeed be by the Law* (verse 21). But the fact is that nobody has ever kept the Law. Instead, we break it every day. Therefore the Law cannot bring life.
How, then, is it possible to create a harmony between the Law and the promise? Only by seeing that men inherit the promise because they cannot keep the Law, and that their inability to keep the Law makes the promise all the more desirable, indeed indispensable. Verse 22: *The Scripture consigned all things to sin*, for the Old Testament plainly declares the universality of human sin, e.g. 'there is none that does good, no, not one' (Psa. 14:3). And Scripture holds every sinner in prison for his sins, in order *that what was promised to faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe*. To summarize, the Judaizers held falsely obedience to the Torah must be added in order for the promise to be received, but Paul teaches the true function of the Law, which is to confirm the promise and make it indispensable.
Under the law and in Christ
Galatians 3:23-29
Paul also implies here that there is a progression in the life of each believer. In a sense, we all begin as captives to the Law—sinners without hope to save ourselves. But then we came to Christ and to his work by which we receive the promise. But, sadly, some Christians live as though they were still under the Law—misusing the Law by seeking to find favor with God through Law-keeping. But Paul’s language here is not ‘in Christ and under the Law’ but 'in Christ or under the Law'. Paul contrasts what we were under the Law with what we now are in Christ.
1. What we were under the law (23, 24)
In a word we were in bondage. Paul uses two vivid similes in verses 23 and 24, in which the law is likened first to a prison, in which we were held captive and then to a tutor whose discipline was harsh and severe.
*Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint...* The verb 'confined' means to 'hold in custody'. The verb 'kept under restraint' means to 'hem in' or 'coop up'. Both emphasize that God's Law holds us in prison, and keep us confined, so that we cannot escape. The NEB translation is that 'we were close prisoners in the custody of the Law.'
The word ‘tutor’ (Greek, *paidagogos*) is a reference to a person who was a guide and guardian of Roman boys. He was usually himself a slave, whose duty it was to conduct the boy to and from school, and to superintend his conduct. The AV translation 'schoolmaster' is unfortunate, for the *paidagogos* was not the boy's teacher so much as his disciplinarian. He was often harsh to the point of cruelty, and is usually depicted in ancient drawings with a rod or cane in his hand.
What do these two similes (prison and tutor) imply? That the Law is like a prison guard and a child's disciplinarian. The Law expresses the will of God for His people, telling us what to do and what not to do, and warns us of the penalties of disobedience. Since we have all disobeyed, we have fallen under its just condemnation. We are all 'under sin' (verse 22, AV), and therefore we are all 'under the law' (verse 23). By nature and practice we are 'under a curse' (verse 10), that is 'the curse of the Law' (verse 13). Nothing we do can deliver us from its cruel tyranny. Like a jailer it has thrown us into prison; like a *paidagogos* it rebukes and punishes us for our misdeeds.
But, thank God, He never meant this oppression to be permanent. He gave the Law in His grace in order to make the promise more desirable. So to both descriptions of our bondage here Paul adds a time reference: '*Before faith came*, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint *until faith* should be revealed' (verse 23). Again, 'the Law was our custodian *until Christ came*, that we might be justified by faith' (verse 24). These are two ways of saying the same thing, because 'faith' and 'Christ' go together. Both verses tell us that the oppressive work of the Law in the history of Israel and in the life of a Christian was temporary. Its purpose was to shut us up in prison until Christ should set us free, or to put us under tutors until Christ should make us sons. Only Christ can deliver us from the prison to which the curse of the Law has brought us, because he was made a curse for us. Only Christ can deliver us from the harsh discipline of the Law because He made us sons who obey from love for their Father and are no longer children needing tutors to punish them.
2. What we now are in Christ (25-29)
Verse 25: *But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian*. The phrase 'but now' underlines that what we are is quite different from what we were. We are no longer 'under the Law' in the sense that we are condemned and imprisoned by it—seeking to achieve God’s favor by trying to obey it. Now we are 'in Christ' (verse 26), united to Him by faith, and so have been accepted by God for Christ's sake, in spite of our grievous law-breaking.
The last four verses of Galatians 3 are full of Jesus Christ. Verse 26: '*In Christ Jesus* you are all sons of God, through faith.' Verse 27: 'For as many of you as were baptized *unto Christ* have *put on Christ*.' The New English Bible translates 'put on Christ as a garment.' The reference may be to a special toga which a Roman boy would put on when he entered manhood. Verse 28b: 'You are all one *in Christ Jesus*.' Verse 29: 'If you are *Christ's* (i.e. 'if you belong to Christ', NEB), then you are Abraham's offspring.'
This, then, is what a Christian is. They are 'in Christ', they have been 'baptized into Christ', they have 'put on Christ' and they 'belong to Christ'. Paul then unfolds two results of being thus united to Christ—we are God’s children and we are all one.
- We are children of God (26, 27)
God is no longer our judge, who through the Law has condemned and imprisoned us. God is no longer our tutor, who through the Law restrains and chastises us. God is now our Father, who in Christ has accepted and forgiven us. We no longer fear Him, dreading the punishment we deserve; we love Him, with deep filial devotion. We are neither prisoners, awaiting the final execution of our sentence, nor minors under the restraint of a tutor—rather we are sons (children) of God and heirs of His glorious kingdom, enjoying the status and privileges of grown-up sons.
This sonship of God is 'in Christ'; it is not in ourselves. In this sense God is the Father only of our Lord Jesus Christ and of those whom He adopts into His family through Christ. If we would be the sons of God, then we must be 'in Christ Jesus... through faith' (verse 26), which is a better rendering than the familiar 'by faith in Christ Jesus' (AV). It is through faith (our sharing in Christ's own faith (see Gal. 2:20,KJV) that we are in Christ, and through being in Christ that we are sons of God.
Our baptism sets forth visibly this union with Christ. Verse 27: *as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ*. This union with Christ pictured by our baptism comes by faith—Paul mentions faith five times in this paragraph. It is faith that secures the union; while baptism signifies it outwardly and visibly. Thus in Christ, by faith inwardly (verse 26) and baptism outwardly (verse 27), we are all sons of God.
- We are all one (28-29)
Literally, 'You are all one person in Christ Jesus' (NEB). In Christ we belong not only to God (as His sons) but to each other (as brothers and sisters). And we belong to each other in such a way as to render of no account the things which normally distinguish and separate us, namely race, rank and gender.
First, *there is no distinction of race*. 'There is neither Jew nor Greek' (verse 28). God called Abraham and his descendants (the Jewish race) in order to entrust to them His unique self-revelation. But when Christ came, God's promise was fulfilled that in Abraham's seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. This includes all nations of every race, color and language. We are equal, equal in our need of salvation, equal in our inability to earn or deserve it, and equal in the fact that God offers it to us freely in Christ. Once we have received it our equality is transformed into a fellowship, the brotherhood which only Christ can create.
Secondly, *there is no distinction of rank*. 'There is neither slave nor free.' Nearly every society in the history of the world has developed its class or caste system. Circumstances of birth, wealth, privilege and education have divided men and women from one another. But in Christ snobbery is prohibited and class distinctions are rendered void.
Thirdly, *there is no distinction of gender*. 'There is neither male nor female.' Women were nearly always despised in the ancient world, even in Judaism, and not infrequently exploited and ill-treated. But here the assertion is made that in Christ male and female are one and equal.
This great statement of verse 28 does not mean that racial, social and gender distinctions are obliterated. Of course every person belongs to a certain race and nation, has been nurtured in a particular culture, and is either male or female. When we say that Christ has abolished these distinctions, we mean not that they do not exist, but that they do not matter. They are still there, but they no longer create barriers to fellowship. We recognize each other as equals, brothers and sisters in Christ. By the grace of God we would resist the temptation to despise one another or patronize one another, for we know ourselves to be 'all one person in Christ Jesus' (NEB).
Conclusion
And thus we learn that the promise—first given to Abraham—is ours in Christ, through faith. It is faith, not obedience to Law, which unites us to Christ in whom are found all the promises. We are not called to be Torah-observant in order to ‘qualify’ for the promises, or somehow to enhance our standing with God under the promises. Rather, the Law of Moses shows us plainly how incapable we are on our own to measure up. The purpose of the Law is to condemn us—to drive us to Christ for salvation in every respect. That is the gospel. And, indeed, it is very good news for us, sinners all.