Galatians 3:19-25 19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Children of God : 23 Before the coming of this faith,[a] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. explains the correct function of the law prior to the Cross. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made (Gal. 3:19). The law existed from creation until Sinai (ROM 5:13; 4:15), but not in the written form that was given there. In their slavery in Egypt, the Jews had largely forgotten Gods law. At Sinai God proclaimed and wrote His Ten Commandment law that the offense might abound (ROM 5:20, KJV); that is, so that the people could be made aware of the seriousness of sin (compare ROM 7:13). The law was given till the seed should come (Gal. 3:19, KJV). The Seed was Christ (verse 16). Paul was not telling the Galatians that the law was abolished at the Cross. He was explaining that Christs perfect life is a greater demonstration of Gods perfect standard of righteousness than is the law (1 Peter 2:21, 22; Phil. 2:5; 1 John 2:6). Nevertheless, the law still functions as the written standard of righteousness and a mirror of human sin (ROM 7:7; James 2:23-25). The word till does not limit the duration of the law; it does not mean that the law was abolished at the Cross. Paul wrote to Timothy, Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine (1 Tim. 4:13, KJV). This did not mean that when Paul arrived Timothy was to stop studying and exhorting. Christs perfect life points out our sin more effectively than does the written law, because He is the personification of the principles of His own law. But His coming did not abolish the law. He was the great light to whom the lesser light (the law) pointed. The law was our schoolmaster (Gal. 3:24, KJV) or disciplinarian (NRSV) until the coming of Christ. The Greek word used in this verse is paidagogos. It means attendant (slave), custodian, guide . . . the man, usually a slave . . . whose duty it was to conduct the boy or youth . . . to and from school and to superintend his conduct generally; he was not a teacher (despite the present meaning of the derivative pedagogue. . . .) When the boy came of age the paidagogos was no longer needed as his guide and protector. We are no longer under the law in the sense that now Christ is a greater revelation of God to man than the law was before the Cross. Paul is not saying that the Ten Commandments were abolished by Christ. Before the Cross, law (moral, ceremonial, and civil) was the principal means by which the love and character of God were revealed to humans. When Jesus came, He provided a more perfect revelation of the character of God. Moreover, the law cannot justify us; Christ can because of His death and our repentance of sin. Now we are no longer under law as the supreme means by which God is revealed to us, nor are we dependent solely upon the law to point out our sin, nor are we under the condemnation of the law. Christ has superseded the law in all these respects. The law still functions as the divine written standard of righteousness for Christians.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 21:57:58 +0000
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