LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

Purpose of the Law (3:19-24)

Purpose of the Law

INTRODUCTION

The Judaizers had claimed that keeping the Law was essential for both salvation/righteousness and living the saved/righteous life. Paul has rejected keeping the Mosaic Law for both salvation and living. Paul seems to have completely destroyed any reason for God giving us the Law. Yet God did give us the Law of Moses. It must have some purpose. Paul really needs to address the question: “What then is the purpose of the Law if it was not meant to save a person?” He addresses this issue here.


19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God ? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.

Commentary

In this short passage, Paul not only addresses the purpose of the Law but also its nature.

  1. “It was added because of ________________.” Regarding this, Paul does not go into as much depth here as he does in Romans. What Paul means is that The Law informed Paul as to what a sin actually was. It defined sin for him (Rom. 5:13; 7:7—“I would not have known about coveting if the ____________ had not said, ‘You shall not covet’”). It would be like a person who tastes a sweet powdery substances and loves its taste so much that he puts it on top of his fruit and his cereal, and in his tea each day. The person gets sicker and sicker not knowing why. The reason is that the white powdery substance comes from an unlabeled bottle of rat poison. The Law put the label “rat poison” on the bottle. Before God gave us the Law, sin was killing people; they just didn’t know why. The Law helped them why.
  2. “Having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator.” Unlike the gospel of grace in which God the Son Himself came to earth to bring us salvation and righteousness, the Law according to Paul [and Stephen (Acts 7:30, 35, especially v. 38) and the rabbis of Paul’s day and afterwards] was not given directly to Moses by God; rather God used angels to give the Law to Moses. This means that the gospel of grace given to us directly from God the Son is superior to the Law of Moses.
  3. “Until the _____________ should come to whom the promise had been made.” The Law was to be temporary, operating only from the time of Moses until the time of Christ. It had a purpose (which we shall see in a moment); however, once that purpose of the Law was fulfilled, there was no longer any need for that Law. (Note that I did not say this: Paul did.)
  4. (A parenthetical remark: “Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.”)
  5. “Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? _________ _____ ______________ ______! For if a law had been given which was able to impart _______________, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.” On the surface, it appears that Paul’s opponents are claiming that Law and the Faith in Christ are polar opposite ways of being saved. They would be opposite methods of salvation if they were both trying to accomplish the same thing, making a person right with God. But that was NEVER the purpose of the Law; therefore, faith and law are not at odds with each other. They are not alternate, opposing means of salvation.


THREE IMAGES PAUL USES TO DESCRIBE THE FUNCTION AND NATURE OF THE LAW OF MOSES (3:22-24; 4:1-2)

Introduction

Paul has just listed some of the characteristics of the Law to show that the Faith in Christ and not the Law of Moses is necessary for salvation and for righteous living. Here he illustrates the nature of the Law with 3 major examples taken from everyday life.


22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. . . . 1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.


Commentary

A Prison Warden (3:22, 23)

The first image Paul uses to describe the Law is the prison warden. The Law served as a prison warden, keeping all people locked up under ___________. The great event of freedom would not occur until Christ purchased that freedom on Calvary.


The Paidagogos (3:24)

The second image is the paidagogos (Grk. paidagogos; pron. pie-dah-go-GAHS). Although our Bibles use the word “tutor,” the truth is that tutor does not do justice to the idea Paul expresses here. Whereas the word “tutor” has the idea of an educational instructor, the paidagogos had no such function. Rather, he was a slave assigned by the father to watch over the son’s morals until the son reached the age of adult responsibility.


Guardians and Managers (4:1-2)

The third image is that of a son whose father has died and who has been placed in the care of guardians and managers until the day he reaches manhood (21 years of age). These would be similar to our bank trustees who are in charge of a trust fund for a person’s children until they reach a certain age. At that time, the son will enter into his full inheritance and no longer need to be managed by these guardians. Although the young man is under the supervision of the guardians and managers, he is as much a son of his father as he will be when he reaches the age of 21. It’s just that now he has not fully realized his sonship.


Common Link among the Three Images

  1. Negative: each image is negative—kept in prison, being boxed on the ear, under another person’s supervision. Faith in Christ frees us and brings us to full sonship.

  2. Temporary: each image claims that the purpose of the Law was temporary—you one day do get out of prison, you quit being boxed on the ears by the slave, you receive your full inheritance. God did not intend for us to be prisoners forever; He did intend for us to be free when Christ came to give us the Faith. God never intended us to be under the supervision of the Law forever; He intended us to be His sons and daughters fully.