Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XLIV)

Flavel expresses the plea of a person who is facing certain death and punishment as a sinner and their eternal alienation from God. This is their confession: “Good works cannot save me, reformation cannot save me, nor angels nor humans can save me; I must have the Anointed One, or be condemned forever. I thought once, that a little repentance, reformation, restitution, and a restricted lifestyle might be a way to escape the wrath to come; but I found it was like trying to find peace and rest on a bed that is too short and the sheets and blankets are too narrow: everything will be lost, as worthless as manure, as wasted as trash in comparison with the Lord Jesus the Anointed One. Anything another person may offer me will not work. Certainly, it may injure me and leave me worse off than before. I see no hope on the horizon that makes any sense.”[1]

John Brown (1784-1858) notes that Paul says here in verses twenty-two and twenty-three that all people outside of God’s family are subject to the Law and its dictates and punishments. In fact, they are held by the Law as a prisoner. Sadly, the dictates of the Law were unachievable and, therefore, they were condemned to death for their failure to live up to them all. The Law uses a tyrant named “guilt” to make sinners bow their heads in obedience to the Law’s condemnation.[2] Such imprisonment is for death-sentenced criminals. They are not on death-row by accident; they were part of the fallen race of Adam from birth. To do wrong was already in them, in their human nature. Only one single act could save them, there was only one way out of imprisonment, and that was for a Savior to voluntarily come and take their place, suffer their penalty of death so they could be free. And it can only be done by the love, grace, and mercy of Almighty God. Now, for some reason, the Galatians want to go back into prison and try to earn their freedom through rites, rituals, and good works.

What better news could be brought to such individuals than the Gospel of Jesus the Anointed One?  Our Lord said that when a person feels desperate, come to me, give me your burden, and I will give you rest. Let us walk side-by-side so that you can learn from Me, I am a gentle person and humble enough to assist anyone who needs help. This will take away your fear, despair, discouragement, depression, desperateness, and wanting to give up. I just want to let you know that you can exercise power over all these things through Jesus, who loves you so much. For there is nothing that can keep you from the love of God. Death cannot! Life cannot! Angels cannot! Government cannot! Foreign powers cannot! Neither heartaches and hardships now or those in the future cannot! Angelic powers cannot, and demonic powers cannot! No living thing can keep us away from the love of God, which comes to us through the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord and Savior![3]

Kenneth Wuest reminds us that the correct understanding of the expression, “Before faith came,” is found in the fact that the definite article “the” is used before the word faith, namely, “before the faith came.” The article here identifies the faith mentioned in this verse with the faith spoken of in verse twenty-two, personal faith in Jesus the Anointed One as Savior, exercised in this Age of Grace. That faith is fundamentally alike to the faith Abraham exercised, so far as its character goes, but different in that it looks back to accomplished salvation at the Cross, whereas the faith of Abraham looked forward to the accomplishment of that salvation at Calvary. The former is faith in a historic Anointed One, whereas the latter was faith in a prophetic Anointed One. Faith has been the appointed means of obtaining the salvation of God since Adam’s time. Faith itself did not begin to be exercised on the occasion of the Cross. Faith, as such, did not come then. But the particular faith in Jesus the Anointed One, as applied in this Age of Grace, arrived at the beginning of the Anointed One’s resurrection.[4]

Thomas Lancaster believes that verse twenty-three here in Galatians received an unfortunate translation in many English versions of the Bible. For instance, in the KJV, it reads: “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed.” The NIV renders it, “Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.” And the Complete Jewish Bible reads: “Now before the time for this trusting faithfulness came, we were imprisoned in subjection to the system which results from perverting the Torah into legalism, kept under guard until this yet-to-come trusting faithfulness would be revealed.”

The reason Lancaster feels this way is because, in the very next verse, Paul says the Law was our guardian until the Anointed One came. You don’t find guardians in prison. The key is the Greek noun paidagōgos that Paul uses to describe the person in charge. So instead of the Torah being a cruel prison guard, it sounds like the Torah was keeping people away from finding faith and freedom; it was a caretaker or tutor. In Strong’s Concordance, we find this definition: Among the Greeks and the Romans, the name paidagōgos was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the elite class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house without their accompaniment before arriving at the age of manhood.[5]

To make it even more confusing, this same Greek word was anglicized to mean a pedagogy, which refers to the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept. The German and British school systems back in the 1600s were often run by schoolmasters who treated the students as though they were in reform school. Lashes with whips and spanking with paddles were not unusual. In fact, when I attended grade school in Germany in the late 1940s, our teacher carried a long stick that he used to lead us in songs, point to the chalkboard, or crack over our knuckles when we were not behaving or studying as we should. Even a wrong answer could get a pop on the head.

But if we leave this word in its Greek context, it should be understood as a caretaker or guardian, entrusted with supervising and directing a child’s conduct and moral behavior. They were responsible for overseeing the child’s activities, particularly as the child became a teen and then a young adult. So, when we see the Torah in this light, it was not only teaching the children of Israel social skills and manners but also their responsibility to God and each other. They were not the teachers of the subject, but they served in the role of a principal who was in charge of the operation. And as Paul indicated here, it was all designed to make them ready when the Messiah came, and they could become men and women in His service.[6]

3:24 As a result, Mosaic Law served as our custodian until our Messiah came to set us free.  That’s why we are now right with God because of our faith in Him.

At this point, Paul summarizes his lesson on the role of Mosaic Law by providing instructions and offering illustrations on how the Messiah would complete salvation’s plan. Jewish literature uses the term paidagōgos in reference to Moses. Paul thereby indicates that those under such a custodian were there only for a specific period during childhood, until they reached a proper age and took on the greater responsibilities of adulthood. So, Paul was not introducing some new expression unfamiliar to his readers. What he attempted to do was show the Judaizers and Gentile believers that the Mosaic Law’s existence was not its end purpose. Its greater mission was to get everyone ready for graduation, or as used earlier of prisoners, to prepare those in confinement for their day of freedom.

When Paul first arrived in the city of Antioch in the country of Pisidia (in SW Turkey today), he told the Jews who came to hear him that they could be forgiven of their sins by the one he was telling them about because everyone who puts their trust in the Anointed One will be made right with God. This will set them free from those things the Law of Moses could not make them free from.[7] He shared with the Romans the same truth.[8]

I don’t know how many of you reading this lesson served in the military service of your country.  I was given that privilege and am proud of it to this day. But when I enlisted, I was sent to “boot camp.” There, we spent thirteen weeks learning to fire a rifle, throw a grenade, discipline, and most crucial: learning to react to any danger on a moment’s notice; to be obedient to command, often a one-word command like, “Drop!” or “Fire!” It was only temporary in preparing us for combat. Once we faced enemy fire and the whistle of incoming mortar shells or wanting to cheat a bullet from taking our lives, there would be no time to ask for explanations.

If Moses never existed, including no Law, or no commandments on how to live right before God until the Messiah came, anything done by humans in the future would have all been in vain. God knew what He was doing. Obedience to Mosaic Law in order to earn temporary forgiveness was just a forerunner of justification by the Anointed One in order to receive salvation and everlasting life. Theodoret puts it this way: Now, it was necessary that the law is given, as it fulfilled our need for a custodian. And it freed us from our previous unrighteousness, taught us knowledge of God, and then brought us to the Anointed One the Lord as our wise teacher so that we might be instructed by Him in perfect learning and acquire righteousness in Him that is through faith.[9]

Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, answered the question concerning “The Old Law” of Moses. Was the Old Law good? Was the Old Law from God? Whether the Old Law should have been given to the Jews alone? Whether all men were bound to observe the Old Law? Whether there was any need for a Divine Law? Whether there is a Human Law? Whether there is in us a Natural Law? Whether there is a Divine Law? Whether there is an Eternal Law? And whether there is but one Divine Law? Aquinas’ answer to this last question was that things may be distinguished in two ways. First, as those things that are altogether specifically different, such as, a horse and an ox. Secondly, as perfect and imperfect in the same species, namely, a colt or an adult stallion, a calf, or an adult bull. In this way, the Divine law is divided into First and Final. That’s why the Apostle Paul says here in verse twenty-four that the Law was used to lead us to the Anointed One. It was our teacher, and so we were made right with God by putting our trust in the Anointed One. From this, we can see that the person under the First Covenant was like a child who needed a teacher. But the person under the Final Covenant is a full-grown adult, who now becomes a teacher.[10]

[1] John Flavel: The Methods of Grace, Sermon on Saving Faith-Continued, Text, John 1:12, Ch. 7, p. 129

[2] John Brown: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., pp. 165-166

[3] Matthew 11:28, 29; Romans 8:35-39

[4] Kenneth Wuest: Word Studies on Galatians, op. cit., loc., cit.

[5] D. Thomas Lancaster: On Galatians, op. cit., loc., cit., p.160

[6] See Galatians 3:25-29

[7] The Acts of the Apostles 13:38-39

[8] Romans 3:20-22; 7:7-9,24,25; 10:4

[9] Edwards, M. J. (Ed.): Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 50)

[10] Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica, Part (2a), Question (91), Answer (5), p. 1015

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XLIII)

3:23 Now, before we found out anything about getting right with God through faith, Mosaic Law put us into protective custody. It kept us under guard until the day the Anointed One would come and set us free through faith.

The Syriac version reads this as, “the Law kept us shut up,” as in prison, the Arabic text reads the same way. This shows the state and conditions the Jews were in under the Law, and how they were treated by it. There are two ways of looking at this state of being held in isolation, so to speak: Was it for punishment or for protection?

As some scholars see it in a negative sense. Descendants of Jacob were not treated as good and righteous persons, but as persons in debt, as criminals and troublemakers. So, a prison was made, called the Law, for such persons. This was necessary because the Law saw them as sinners, as criminals convicted and condemned to die. The Law became the judge and jury by accusing, convicting, pronouncing them guilty, and sentencing them to eternal separation from God. They were detained as prisoners in a dark dungeon of hopelessness, with little expectation, if any, of being freed.

They were treated like Joseph by his brothers, thrown in a pit without food or water. There they laid as prisoners with no optimism of ever being released. This is a picture of the custom in the eastern nations in how they treated slaves and captives, who in the daytime used to grind grain at a mill in the prison yard, and at night-time were thrown down into a pit and a millstone placed over the mouth of the pit.

But other Bible scholars see it in a positive way. They were being protected from heathenism while waiting for the Messiah’s coming; who was to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, and to say to the prisoners, come forth, and to them that sit in darkness, come out into the light. So, the state of Jews being in bondage as servants differed from that of slaves. They were still God’s children tied to the Law, being kept safe until they could become children of God freed by faith. And in this uncomfortable condition, they continued, looking for the faith which would be revealed.

That is, until the Anointed One, the object of faith came, who was to be revealed or made manifest in the flesh. The one who, before His incarnation, not only rested on His Father’s shoulder but was, in large part, already hidden in the types and prophecies of the First Covenant. The prophets tried to give some hints about Him, yet did not describe His appearance in human form. That would come by the testimonies of His Father by a voice from heaven, of angels, of John the Baptizer, and others. His true nature as the Son of God would also become apparent through His teachings and miracles, and by the spirit of wisdom and omniscience revealed by His divine knowledge.

Apparently, Paul saw an excellent opportunity to illustrate the idea of Mosaic Law as being somewhat akin to a warden, and every potential believer was locked up in this garrison until they were miraculously freed.  God used that time to speak to the prisoners about the coming Messiah. Fellow inmates like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and so on also spoke of a coming day of deliverance.

During their era, faith in God was expressed through the sacrifices, offerings, and ceremonial laws. But these only foreshadowed what was to take place. The writer of the Book of Hebrews explores this very well. He says that God honored that faith and credited it to them as accrued righteousness that would be validated when the Messiah, they believed in, arrived. It was, as we would say today, made retroactively.

Those imprisoned under Mosaic Law were not necessarily considered criminals but were sentenced by the Law because they were unable to produce the proper identification that showed them to be free citizens of God’s kingdom. They were, in fact, in protective custody. Yet, God in His mercy turned the confinement into homeschooling so that the coming full and glorious revelation of salvation by faith in the Messiah could be taught.

Mosaic Law was doing mankind a favor by keeping them anchored in a safe haven until they were redeemed and their ransom paid. Look at the heathen world and the mess they got into without God’s Law. Mosaic Law also condemned every other attempt to be justified in any other way by any other god. But the LORD designed a real purpose and reason for keeping mankind from finding any other possible way to get free. You see, God was planning to give humanity a pardon, not just let them out on parole.

It reminds me of how potential astronauts are taught to cope with weightlessness. They are put in containment, and the effect of weightlessness is artificially produced. Some of their training is in water tanks that give the feel of being weightless. Another training is done in simulators that reproduce one-sixth the pull of gravity. There is also the Micro-gravity Wall and Five Degrees of Freedom trainer. The one that qualifies as the closest emulator to weightlessness is the KC-135 Stratotanker that flies in a pattern similar to a car going over a small hill and produces 20 to 25 seconds of zero-gravity conditions.  It is called the “trajectory maneuver.”

So, astronauts are not simply taken into space and turned loose. They must learn to cope with the sensation of floating free without the effects of gravity. So it was that God knew one day true believers would be free from the gravity of sin. But they needed training and learning how to cope without becoming disoriented and someone constantly having to rescue them because they were out of control. Don’t you think God is more pleased when we show Him how much we love Him of our own volition and by our free will, then finishing some demanding exercise or completing some difficult task to Him smile and make us proud?

No wonder when the Messiah came and spoke to a woman in Samaria, who told how some worshiped God in the mountains and some in Jerusalem, He told her emphatically that the day was not far away when true worshipers would not need the old methods of sacrifice and offerings on altars, either up in the mountains or down in the cities. Still, they will truly worship the Father in spirit, not by physical means. That’s the type of believer the Father is looking for.[1]

Amazingly, others were not listening as carefully. To the Romans, who possessed little knowledge, experience, or involvement in the Jewish religion, Jesus was a zealot in a Jewish cult called “The Way.”  To the Jewish leadership, Jesus was a rebel who spoke of doing away with their method of salvation and holy living, and they were not going to stand by and let that happen without a fight. And now, the believers in Galatia were having doubts about what constitutes true salvation and spiritual worship. No wonder Paul was so unyielding about getting the truth out.

Medieval Dutch theologian Jakob Arminius (1560-1609), was writing about whether or not the faith of Abraham by which he was justified, was faith in Jesus the Anointed One who was still to come? Arminius could find no proof of Abraham having understood the promises of God in no other way than that he should be the heir of the world. There are two factors to consider here. First, why should anyone be criticized for bringing up this point? Arminius was ready to debate anyone who challenged his right to do so. Secondly, faith in the Anointed One can be both direct and indirect. Indirect faith in the Anointed One, according to the promise of a seed who would come as Savior of the world, can be seen among the ancients of Israel put their trust in types, figures, shadows of words, and things that suggest such a thing.

On the other hand, direct faith is faith according to the Gospel of the Anointed One. There is little doubt that He is presented there as the Son of God and Savior of the world. So, the difference between the two is the differences between Jews and Christians. Here in verse twenty-three, Paul states clearly that before it was possible to be saved from the punishment of sin by putting our trust in the Anointed One, we were held under the Law. It was as if we were being kept in prison. We were kept this way until the Anointed One came.

And to the Corinthians, Paul explained that they can speak without fear because their trust is in the Anointed One. We are not like Moses. He put a covering over his face so the Jews would not see that the bright light was fading away. Even to this day, when the Law is read, there is a covering over their minds. They do not see that the Anointed One is the only one who can take that coverage away.

How true this proved to be true in the case of the Sanhedrin member named Nicodemus. When he came to Jesus to inquire about getting a better understanding of the Kingdom of God, Jesus said that it cannot happen until you are born again.[2] It is sad to say, but now the Galatians could not see that after having their eyes opened because the Anointed One took off the veil, so to speak, that they could see His glory they are now putting the veil back so they can look at the Law instead. When Jesus came, the reason the Jews rejected Him was that He didn’t fit any of their types and figures they imagined Him to be. So how could the Galatians who now know exactly who He is, go back to putting their trust in rites, rituals, and regulations, forgetting what He looks like?[3]

John Flavel (1628-1691), English Presbyterian pastor and puritan thinker, preaching about how Grace operates, made it abundantly clear that saving faith in the Anointed One is the only way to escape the horrible ending facing unforgiven sinners. When confronted with such a future with no power or ability to change course through one’s own effort, then self-despair from the total and absolute loss as to any way to escape or seek deliverance becomes a reality, it leads one to the cliff of despair.

Flavel then points to a message by the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost about King David as an example. Despite all that happened to him, King Saul’s persecution for years, the rebellion of his son Absalom, his despicable adulterous with Bathsheba, the plagues that followed his ill-advised census, etc. Yet he never lost his trust in God. David testified: I can see the Lord before me all the time. He is on my right side so that I do not need to be troubled. I am glad, and my tongue is full of joy. My body rests in hope. You will not leave my soul in death. You will not allow Your anointed king to be destroyed. You showed me the ways of life. I will be full of joy when I see Your face.[4]

Those are the words of a person who came out of the self-despair because they found an escape provided by God. Flavel then addresses what the Apostle Paul writes here in verse twenty-three. Paul said that before it was possible to be saved from the punishment of sin by putting one’s trust in the Anointed One, we were all held under the Law. It was as if we were locked up in prison. We were restrained this way until the Anointed One came. One can imagine a group of people on an island, locked in a small room while a terrible hurricane bears down upon them. The only way to be rescued is if a ship shows up and takes them off the island before the storm hits. Paul says here in verse twenty-four that the Law was being used to lead those who were in despair into realizing their need for a Savior.

[1] John 4:19-24

[2] John 3:1-12

[3] The Apology or Defense of James Arminius, Article 3, p. 244

[4] Acts of the Apostles, 2:25-28

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XLII)

Paul shows clearly that the Promise given to Abraham and the Law given to Moses are not competing for attention, they are mutually exclusive because they were meant to accomplish two different things.  He now proceeds to explain how the Promise to Abraham alone does what Mosaic Law could not do.  When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, they led all humanity from the Garden of Eden to the Garrison of Evil. But God already possessed a plan to set mankind free, and He chose Abraham to be the one through whom the Deliverer would come. That’s why we must never mix the Promise and the Law together as one commandment, especially for Christians.

It appears that there were some in the Church during the time of Origen of Alexandria (184-253 AD), that took what Paul said here in verse twenty-two about all people are slaves in the bondage of sin to mean that people’s souls descended to such a degree of degradation that they forget their rational nature and dignity, and sank to the same level as irrational animals. To justify their assertions, they generally misused Scriptures to validate their points. For instance, they exploited laws against having sex with animals in Scripture,[1] and gave Balaam’s donkey speaking with a human voice as an example.[2] Origen says that all of these assertions are not acceptable but go contrary to his belief.[3]

Never, from the time sin entered the world through Adam and was exaggerated by the giving of the Law to Moses, did the soul of mankind deteriorate to that of animals. To use a modern example, the poison of sin caused the soul to become comatose, where it no longer responded to the voice of God. The only response came when God awakened the soul to hear Him speak, for example, Methuselah, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. But only when the Word came in the flesh and made it possible for believers to live in Him and He in them was the soul completely awakened for eternity. Sinners today cannot respond to God’s voice through His Word or the preaching of His Word until the Holy Spirit awakens it to hear, understand, and respond.

Thomas Aquinas gives his view on this subject of the Law versus the Promise. For him, Paul is saying that although the Law was put in place because of wrongdoing, nevertheless, just because the Law could not remove our guilt for those wrong-doing does not negate the Promise God made to Abraham. If the Law were able to remove sin’s guilt, then it would be in violation of the conditions laid down in God’s promise. In such a case, justice would be obtained by some other means than what God promised. That means Justice would be through the Law and not through Faith. That’s why it is said, The just will live based on their faith.[4] The justice of God is by faith in Jesus the Anointed One.[5] That’s why Paul said, if Law were to be given the power to forgive and bring eternal life, then justice would be obtained by the Law and faith will play no role. But the Law does not give life because the letter of the Law kills.[6] [7]

All this time, the Jews existed in a state of spiritual imprisonment, unable to attain their freedom by having their sentence annulled by the same Mosaic Law that imprisoned them. They were found guilty and remained guilty with all the evidence clearly against them. Even though Mosaic Law was sympathetic by revealing what they did wrong and convicting them of their sinful ways, it could not offer them a reprieve. Mosaic Law provided ways for mankind to be remorseful and to show how apologetic they were through the appointed sacrifices and ceremonial purifications. Still, it was only trying to help the sinner make up for their sin and give them some sense of personal pride, knowing they obeyed God.  But it could not wash the sin away and cleanse the sinner white as snow so they could begin life anew in freedom. Model prisoners are still prisoners; they are not free with a clean record.

It took a Deliverer, a Savior, to make a radical change, but not through jailbreak or introducing new evidence that might bring an acquittal, but by that Savior trading places with the prisoner, then serving out the whole sentence by accepting the death penalty. But God in His mercy brought Him back to life again, so the prisoner for whom He died could start all over on the outside with a clean slate; furthermore, not just a new life here on earth, but a new life that will go on into eternity. How wonderful is that!

So, says Paul, the fulfillment of the promise did not come through any work on sinful man’s part, but through the work of a sinless the Anointed One. By putting one’s faith in the Anointed One, the believer’s faith that the faithfulness of the Anointed One met all of God’s demands is confirmed. Whenever I pray with sinners who come forward for salvation, I always make sure I included the phrase, “I now accept Jesus the Anointed One as my Lord and Savior.” Too often, the sinner’s prayer leads convert to believe that by simply repeating the prayer, salvation is automatically granted them. Being sorry for one’s sins is not enough. The new believer must never walk away from the altar, thinking, “I just got saved!” It’s too easy then to lose it, to fall short, to backslide. Rather, to walk away from the altar believing “Jesus the Anointed One just saved me,” and it’s impossible for Him to fail, to fall short, thereby annulling my salvation.

The Apostle Paul knew from his own experience that if the Israelites really knew that Mosaic Law was incapable of saving them unless it was kept to perfection, their souls might cry out for a permanent redemption from sin. However, they exhibited a far different attitude when the true Messiah came. But by thinking they were given the sacrifices and ceremonies in order to make them holy by going through the motions, they missed the whole purpose of Mosaic Law in preparing them for the Anointed One.

As we know, some forty years after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Temple in Jerusalem was razed, along with the altar and Holy of Holies, never to be rebuilt to this day. So gone was their opportunity to lay their sins on the heads of animals to make restitution for their sins. And since then, no human high priest entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur to splash the blood on the Mercy Seat for the forgiveness of sins. It is still practiced, but only as a ceremony. Paul’s message in Galatia brought believers freedom through the Anointed One, but now these Judaizers wanted to take them back to the old way of doing things. No wonder Paul felt so disappointed with these people.

Believers must realize that church rituals and regulations are only there to guide, not to save. To depend on them for salvation is to throw away the suffering and death, Jesus went through on our behalf. If we decide to throw anything away, let it be our dependence on religious rituals and regulations designed to govern our lives, which may end up driving us away from God. This, no doubt, led Martin Luther to expound on this subject of works.[8]

In one of his instructional courses for personal study, Adam Clarke (1760-1851), starts out by saying that people, by their individual transgressions, open themselves to eternal punishment. And as a consequence of the impurity or infection of their nature, they are incapable of enjoying eternal glory; and, therefore, to be saved. Consequently, they must be able to testify that they were delivered from the guilt of all their sins and from its impurities so that their soul can take its place in God’s presence through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Only then will they be qualified to enjoy an eternal union with Him in the realms of glory.

So, asks Clarke, how, therefore, are these purposes proven to be accurate by believing on the Lord Jesus the Anointed One? The Apostle Paul tells us here in verse twenty-two that the Holy Scriptures say that all people are guilty of sin. Then that which was promised might be given to those who put their trust in the Anointed One. It will be because their faith is in Him. Now, the promise not only focuses on the incarnation of the Anointed One but also the blessings to be communicated through that incarnation. These blessings may be all summed up in these three particulars: Pardon of sin; Gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit for the purification and sanctification of the heart; and Eternal Life as a result of that pardon, purification, and sanctification.[9]

Theologian Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) focuses on the striking and solemn figure of a person who is locked up in the literal sense of being confined. So, then, we are to conceive of a vast prison-house in which mankind is imprisoned. And then, very characteristically, the Apostle passes at once to another metaphor when he goes on to say “loaded down with sin.” What a sight to see, a person carrying a weight almost too much for them is found guilty of violating the Law and is locked up and forced to stand in a dungeon with this enormous weight still on their shoulders. Who in such a condition would not dream of having someone come to pay their fine and set them free, both from the prison and the heavy weight on their shoulders? This sure does make the words of Jesus, “Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened down, and I will give you complete relief,”[10] sound even more comforting.

MacLaren also believes that many sinners are surprised when we tell them that sin is incarceration because it is contrary to the notion that many unconverted people hold. As they see it, why should they be chained to antiquated restrictions of the Bible and Church? Why can’t they just break those chains and live like they want to? And they laugh at Christian people who willingly submit to the moral limitations under which God’s law placed them. This causes them to poke fun at such old-fashioned, strait-laced, stern-looking people who never enjoy fun as they walk down a dark narrow pathway. They contrast it with their own brightly lit broadway with so many opportunities to satisfy whatever passion they feel at the moment.

But they got it all wrong, says MacLaren! The person who is constantly doing what’s wrong is a slave to sin to the level they sinned. That’s why Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin… So, if the Son sets you free, you surely will be free.”[11] Sinners are the slaves to their own passions, and no one is free who is still hindered by immoral desires that go against what their conscience is telling them is wrong. The tempter comes to you and says, come on, do it only once. Now you can quit anytime you want to. If you don’t like it, then you don’t need to do it again. Unfortunately, when you do it again just for fun before you know it, you are addicted and can’t quit. On the other hand, all the things that bring Christians joy, peace, and hope they are encouraged to do it again and again.[12]

[1] Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 18:23

[2] Numbers 22:28

[3] Works of Origen, Origen de Principiis, Bk. 1, Ch. 8, p. 513

[4] Habakkuk 2:4

[5] Romans 3:22

[6] 2 Corinthians 3:6

[7] Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Galatians, loc. cit.

[8] Martin Luther: A Treatise on Good Works, The Importance of the Work, p.18

[9] Adam Clarke: Salvation by Faith Proved, A Discourse, Text: Acts of the Apostles 16:30, pp. 34-35

[10] Matthew 11:28

[11] John 8:34, 36

[12] Alexander MacLaren: Exposition of Scripture, op. cit., On Galatians, loc. cit., pp. 117-118

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XLI)

3:22 Doesn’t the Scriptures teach that we are all prisoners of sin?  Therefore, the only way to become an heir to God’s promise of freedom is by having faith in Jesus the Anointed One to set us free.

When speaking of Scriptures, since there was no other written document that was considered the Word of God in Paul’s day, he, of course, was referring to the Tanakh – Jewish Bible. Paul’s quote is from a prayer of King David: “Adonai, hear my prayer; listen to my pleas for mercy. In your faithfulness, answer me, and in your righteousness. Don’t bring your servant to trial, since in your sight, no one alive would be considered righteous.”[1] This was an accepted part of Jewish theology. But Paul saw the origin of what caused this universal sinfulness. It spread to all humanity through the sin of Adam and Eve.[2] But there’s more, that inherent tendency to sin became a part of human nature. But it became epidemic because of the Law.[3] In other words, those with little knowledge of God became infected when they came into contact with the Law. But Paul brought Good News. All along, God intended it this way so that He might show how loving and kind He really was.[4]

Was God being sinister? Was He playing games with man’s eternal soul? No! Not at all! He wanted to show people they couldn’t save themselves, that they needed help, and He would provide them a Savior. And when the Savior came, He was crucified on a cross and raised from the dead, He told His disciples to go out and tell everyone that whoever came to listen could put their trust in Him and be baptized would be saved from the punishment of sin. But those who do not put their trust in Him are guilty and will be punished forever.[5] This message began with John the Baptizer.[6] Jesus made that part of His message wherever He went.[7] It was especially needed when He went to raise Lazarus from the dead.[8] And so it is no wonder that Paul made it a central point in his Gospel.[9]

Paul shows clearly that the promise that was given to Abraham and the Law that was given to Moses are not opposed or in conflict with one another, but simply that they are mutually exclusive because they were meant to accomplish two different things.  He now proceeds to explain how the promise to Abraham alone does what Mosaic Law cannot do. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, they led all humanity from the Garden of Eden to the Garrison of Evil. But God already possessed a plan to set mankind free, and He chose Abraham to be the one through whom the Deliverer would come.

Since that time, Jews existed in a state of spiritual imprisonment, unable to attain their freedom by having their sentence annulled by the same Mosaic Law that put them there. They were found guilty and remained guilty with all the evidence clearly against them. Even though Mosaic Law was sympathetic by revealing what they did wrong and convict them of their sinful ways, it could not offer them any reprieve through salvation.

The Mosaic Law provided ways for mankind to be remorseful and show how sorry they were through appointed sacrifices and purifications. Still, it was only trying to help the sinner make up for their sin and give them some sense of personal pride, knowing they obeyed God. But it could not wash the sin away and cleanse the sinner white as snow so they could begin life anew in freedom. Model prisoners are still prisoners; they are not freed with a clean record.

It took a Deliverer, a Savior, to make a radical change, but not through jailbreak or introducing new evidence that might bring an acquittal, but by the Savior trading places with the prisoner, then serving out the whole sentence by accepting their death penalty. But God in His mercy brought Him back to life again, so the prisoner for whom He died could start all over on the outside with a clean slate. Furthermore, not just a new life here on earth, but a life that will go on into eternity. How wonderful is that!

So, says Paul, the fulfillment of the promise did not come through any work on sinful man’s part, but through the work of a sinless Anointed One. By having faith in the Anointed One, the believer also accepts the faithfulness of the Anointed One as meeting all of God’s demands. In my own ministry, whenever I prayed with sinners who came forward for salvation, I always made sure I included the phrase, “I now accept Jesus the Anointed One as my Lord and Savior.”  Too often, the sinner’s prayer leads the convert to believe that by merely praying such a prayer, salvation is automatically granted them. Being sorry for one’s sins is not enough. The new believer must never walk away from the altar, thinking, “I just got saved!”  It’s too easy then to lose it, to fall short, or to backslide.  Rather, to walk away from the altar believing “Jesus the Anointed One just saved me,” and it’s impossible for Him to fail or fall short, thereby annulling their salvation.

The Apostle Paul knew from his own experience that if the Israelites really knew that the Mosaic Law was incapable of saving them unless it was kept to perfection, their souls would cry out for a permanent redemption from sin. Consequently, they might see things differently when the true Messiah came. But by thinking they were given the sacrifices and ceremonies in order to make them holy by going through the motions, they missed the whole purpose of the Mosaic Law in preparing them for the Anointed One.  Paul’s message in Galatia brought believers freedom through the Anointed One, but now these Judaizers wanted to take them back to the old way of doing things. No wonder Paul felt so demoralized by these unfaithful people.

There used to be what was called a “foxhole confession.” Soldiers in battle would pray, “Oh God, save my soul, and if You get me out of this, when I get back home, I’ll serve you the rest of my life.” If God did save them, it wasn’t because of their vow, but because of His vow that whosoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. He stands ready to keep His promise; all they needed to do was believe that He wouldn’t fail and put their complete faith in Him.

Believers must realize that church rituals and regulations are only there to guide, not to save. To depend on them for salvation is to throw away the suffering and death, Jesus went through on their behalf. If we decide to throw anything away, let it be our dependence on religious rituals and regulations designed to govern our lives, which may end up driving us away from God.

Canadian college professor Dyson Hague M. A. (1857-1936), makes an interesting point, especially for those who do not accept the doctrine of original sin beginning with Adam. He points out that with regard to our redemption, the third chapter of Genesis is the basis of our Doctrine of Salvation. If Adam did not fall, there would be no condemnation of sin, no separation from God, and no need for reconciliation. If there was no need for reconciliation, there was no need for redemption; and if there was no need for redemption, the Incarnation of the Son of God was a farce and the crucifixion a folly. That’s what the Apostle Paul was trying to explain to the Galatians here in verse twenty-one.

Paul links the fall of Adam so closely to the death of the Anointed One, says Hague, that without Adam’s fall, Christian theology would be stripped of its most spectacular feature, the atonement. If God did not create the first man Adam as a living soul who then fell, there’d be no reason for the work of the Second Man Adam, the Lord from heaven to be incarnated into Adam’s likeness so He could lead humanity back to their relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. The rejection of the Genesis story as a myth will force the rejection of the Gospel as a reality. One of the chief cornerstones of the Christian doctrine will be removed if the historical reality of Adam and Eve is abandoned. That’s why the fall of Adam and Eve will forever remain as the starting point of God’s revelation of salvation by grace, and of the need for personal regeneration. In it lies the origin of the entire Gospel preached by the Apostles.[10]

3:22 But the Holy Scriptures say that all men are guilty of sin. Then that which was promised might be given to those who put their trust in the Anointed One. It will be because their faith is in Him.

If there was anything that got the Jews’ attention, it was the Holy Scriptures. In Hebrew, they call it the Tanakh, which is an acronym for the three Hebrew letters of its three components: Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).[11] The one portion that Paul selected was from the Psalms (Ketuvim) that says: “…no one alive would be considered righteous.”[12] Obviously, Paul is giving his paraphrase of this verse, as we can see from what he said to the Romans.[13] God knew His purpose for it all.[14]

So, when the Apostle reminds them of what the Tanakh says, it makes them more attentive to what he said, especially when he mentions the Promise. God promised to give the world to Abram and to all his family after him. He did not make this promise because Abraham obeyed the Law. He promised to give the world to Abraham because he put his trust in God. This made him right with God. If those who obey the Law are able to inherit the world, then a person putting their trust in God means nothing. God’s promise to Abraham would then be worth nothing.[15]

But the promise God made was backed up by His infallible reputation. In the Book of Hebrews, we find an explanation of this. When people make a promise, they use a name greater than themselves. They do this to make sure they will do what they promise. In this way, no one argues about it. And, therefore, God made a promise showing Abraham that He would never change His mind. So, He made the promise based on His own reputation.[16] With that in mind, the Apostle Peter was able to declare that we will receive the great things promised to us. They are being kept safe in heaven for us. They are pure and will never pass away. They will never be lost![17]

[1] Psalm 143:1-2

[2] Romans 5:12-13

[3] Ibid. 5:20

[4] Ibid. 11:32

[5] Mark 16:16

[6] John 3:36

[7] Ibid. 5:24; 6:40

[8] Ibid. 11:25:26; 12:46; 20:31

[9] Acts of the Apostles 16:31; Romans 10:9

[10] Biblical Illustrator: R. A. Torrey (Ed)., The Fundamentals, Vol. 1, Ch. 14, The Doctrinal Value of the First Chapter of Genesis – By Vicar Dyson Hague M. A., M. A. Church of the Epiphany; Professor of Liturgics, Wycliffe College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, pp.238-239

[11] The Ketuvim, (Writings) included the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, in that order.

[12] Psalm 143:2

[13] Romans 3:10-12

[14] Ibid. 11:32

[15] Ibid. 4:13-15

[16] Hebrews 6:16-17

[17] 1 Peter 1:4

Steven Jacobs, a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago, submitted his dissertation that included his findings after interviewing 2,899 American adults whose background and training made the excellent candidates to answer the question: When does human life begin. Even pro-choice individuals said it came at conception. They were then asked who they thought would be the best the most qualified to answer the question of when human life begins. 81% of them said, biologists.

So, Jacobs then interviewed thousands of biologists, including pro-choice individuals, asking them three questions: (1) Does the development of a mammal begin at the moment of fertilization? Over 90% said yes. (2) Does fertilization mark the beginning of a human’s life? Over 75% said yes. (3) When does life begin? 90% of respondents who described themselves as “very pro-life” said life begins at the moment of fertilization, as did 75% of those who called themselves “pro-choice” and around 60% of those who identified themselves as “very pro-choice.”

How clearly this tells us that all the propaganda we read in newspapers, magazines, on radio and television shows, as well as “very pro-choice” politicians and judges that declare abortion is a human right, fail to recognize that the majority of Americans, even some of their fellow pro-choice comrades, believe that the real human right is to be free to live. Sadly, we live in a day and age when killing a newborn puppy or kitten can get a person a fine or even jail time, but killing a new human being is the mother’s or doctor’s right.

How quickly they had forgotten what God said in His word: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.”[1] Not only that, but the Psalmist wrote: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”[2] So the taking of a helpless, innocent child before birth is an insult to our Creator. Punishment may not be given here on earth, but I would hate to stand before God and tell Him why I purposely killed one of His children whom He destined to be a great contributor for mankind’s benefit and a soul-winner for Christ. – Dr. Robert R. Seyda

[1] Jeremiah 1:5

[2] Psalm 127:3; See also Psalm 139:13-16

SOMETIMES ANGELS LOOK DIFFERENT THAN WE IMAGINED

A well-known evangelist from India named Ravi Zacharias, tells this story in his book “Deliver Us From Evil.”  When Ravi went to Vietnam in 1971, his interpreter was a fine Christian young man named Hien Pham.  After Ravi left, he did not have further contact with Hien for the next 17 years.  Then one day, Hien called him and shared that he was now out of Vietnam.  When Ravi asked how did he escape, Hien told him this story.

He was arrested by the Communist authorities and charged with helping the Americans during the war.  While in jail, he was not allowed to read anything except Communist propaganda.  As time went on, he began to soften against this godless doctrine, and as a result, he started doubting his own Christian beliefs.  He wondered if those who taught him Christian doctrines had somehow deceived him.  So, he decided to stop praying and cease thinking about Christianity from then on.  But the very next day, he was assigned to cleaning the prison toilets.  As he emptied the trash cans, he noticed a piece of paper with English writing on it.  He quickly put it in his pocket.  Later on, after his roommates had fallen asleep, he used a flashlight to read the paper.  As he began to read, he was overcome with emotion by what it said:

“And we know that in all things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose…What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake, we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[1]

Hien was weeping as he finished reading. So, he silently cried out to God, asking forgiveness. He discovered later that a camp official was using pages from a confiscated Bible as toilet paper. For some unknown reason, Hien was soon let out of prison. That’s when, along with some friends, he began to make plans to escape from Vietnam. By the time they were ready to make their getaway, some 53 people had joined the group. But just days before their departure, four Communists agents showed up and interrogated him about the rumored plot. Hien vehemently denied it and was let go. But his dishonesty troubled him, and he became disgusted with himself. So, he vowed never to lie again. The escape date was reset, and just before they were getting ready to leave, the same four men came back and started questioning him again. This time he confessed to the escape plan. To his great surprise, they wanted to escape too.

So, at the appointed time, all 58 people boarded a boat and sailed away. However, they soon ran into a fierce storm. At first, Hien thought God had arranged all this for them to escape, but now he began to doubt because it looked like they would sink and be lost at sea. But he would quickly discover God had, in fact, planned it, by making sure that these four Communist men who joined them were well-trained seamen, and with their talent and abilities, they were able to weather the storm and land safely in Thailand. From there, Hien was able to make it to the United States. There may be some who would scoff at this and say it was just good luck or timing, but for those of us who believe that God guides us and knows every step, this was no coincidence. So the next time things don’t go your way, think about this story, and it may help you keep the faith.

Sometimes we tend to dismiss people who come unexpectedly into our lives because we hold the right to choose those we want to interact with. But sometimes God allows people to join us on the highway of life to carry out His purpose for our lives. This was certainly the instructions we find in the Scriptures where it says: Remember to welcome strangers because some who have done this have welcomed angels without knowing it.[2] The best way to find out if they are there for our good is to greet them with love and a smile. Their reaction will tell you all you need to know. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

[1] Romans 8:28-39

[2] Hebrews 13:2

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XL)

Here Paul is trying his best to point out to the Judaizers and the Galatian church the impossibility of the Mosaic Law, making anyone completely righteous, not because the Law is so flawed but because of the weakness and frailty of human flesh. The centuries leading up to the coming of the Anointed One provide ample evidence that mankind is helpless in saving themselves. Alone, man cannot adequately measure up to God’s perfect and holy standard. But thanks to God, Jesus the Anointed One did it for all people who will receive it by faith and obey Him. The Anointed One fulfilled all of the Laws God gave Moses, to perfection. This allowed Him then to invite anyone who believed in His perfect work to become part of Him; to be in the “body of the Anointed One.”  Thereby they become, in a true sense, “Part of the Anointed One;” and, therefore, by “being in Him,” they benefit from saving righteousness they were incapable of producing on their own.

It is so important to understand that the righteousness of the Anointed One is not imputed, that is, not credited to the believer based on their good works. Rather, when a believer is born again in the Anointed One, they are then as righteous before God as the Anointed One is because they are in Him and He in them. Therefore, when God looks around to find those who measure up to His perfect will and those who fulfill His perfect Law, He doesn’t see you and me; He sees the Anointed One and accepts the Anointed One as the perfect sacrifice. And, by being in the Anointed One, we are simultaneously accepted too. Anyone who thinks they can please and honor and obey God’s perfect will outside of the Anointed One is horribly misled and terribly mistaken. It can only be done in the Anointed One and through the Anointed One. So, no matter how holy a person thinks they are by what they do or say or think, it can never exceed the holiness of the Anointed One. We are, therefore, holy because He is holy.

I can imagine Paul getting all excited as he contemplates the Galatian believers reading this portion of his letter. I choose to believe; he’s also hoping that they will confront the Judaizers with this truth to see what their response will be. I can envision one of the Gentile believers quoting Paul’s letter to a snooty Judaizer and saying, “I’ve just learned that one needs extra strength to abide by Mosaic Law, but the problem with Mosaic Law is its inability to give me enough strength to keep on going once I start.  Consequently, even if I could find new life through Mosaic Law, it would be incapable of helping me maintain my new life. But Mosaic Law brings no life; it simply states the command, tells me to keep it, and gives me the penalties if I break it. However, not only does Jesus give me life, but it gives me the strength to live right in His way. So there! Keep your salvation through Mosaic Law, and take a long walk on a short pier!”

Marius Victorinus says that since God gave the Law, it is not conceivable that the same Law should be seen as having been given in spite of the promises. It is undoubtedly against the promises if it embroils us in other things, namely, that we should fulfill the works required by the law, rather than receiving what was promised through faith and be an heir to an inheritance from God. But let us see what Paul’s answer to this is. He first denies it unequivocally: “Certainly not!” That is, it is not right that God should give the Law in competition to the promise.^[1]

Dutch theologian Jakob Arminius explores the many uses of the moral law and how it affects mankind. He notes that from all the ways it is used, we can easily understand how the moral law relates to believers when it is compared to the grace of the Anointed One, and how far it is repealed from having any effect. As Arminius sees it, the moral law is rescinded because it cannot use its power in justifying. As Paul says here in verse twenty-one if such power existed in the moral code that it could give spiritual life and bring the repentant sinner into union with God through the Anointed One, then being right with God could have been obtained through the moral law.

Arminius goes on to point out that the reason the moral law cannot give spiritual life is that it is weak when trying to accomplish such life through the works of the flesh.[2] Therefore, God was willing to deal graciously with mankind and gave the promise of everlasting life through the Anointed One Himself. So, the believer’s inheritance through the promise comes through Jesus the Anointed One to them that believe. Furthermore, the Law came after the promise God made to Abraham. Therefore, faith in the Anointed One for justification is not canceled. So, no more should anyone believe that they can have a timeless life through being in union with the Law when eternal life only comes by being in union with the Anointed One, God’s Son.[3] [4]

German Lutheran scholar Johann Bengel says that here in verse twenty-one about whether or not the Torah and its laws stand in opposition to God’s promises. Bengel believes we must look at this as a twofold mediation with angels as God’s representatives,[5] on God’s behalf, and the peoples’ behalf. God delegated the Law to His angels as something of external and strict in character. He reserved the promises for Himself to dispense. This He accomplished according to His own goodness and kindness. The mediator was Moses, that’s why we often find the expression of “by the hand of Moses.” A mediator is defined in the Torah.[6] There is a wide difference between Moses, the mediator, and the Anointed One as an Intercessor. The Law of Moses that was given to the Israelites was one that pushes away. The Law of Love that was given by Jesus the Anointed One pull towards.[7] [8]

John Wesley has an interesting view of the work of a mediator. He says that the mediator is not a mediator of one – there must be two parties, or there can be no mediator between them, but God who made the free promise to Abraham is only one of the parties. The other, Abraham, who was not present during the time of Moses. Therefore, Moses had nothing to do with the promise. The Law, over which he was concerned, was an entirely different matter. So, if Abraham was justified by faith, then the Messiah came to promote the promise, not the Law. Today, there are so many who are worried about the moral law that they’ve completely forgotten about the promise God made to Abraham.[9]

Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards also addresses the controversies that include whether the Law in God’s plan of salvation improves, enhances, or even replaces some things provided by Grace. Edwards believes that Paul rejects this idea because the Law is not administrated by the Holy Spirit.[10] The Spirit will not promote that which brings sin. As Paul says here in verse twenty-one, there is no law that can give life, and that’s why many people who have a strong spiritual tenacity still surrender to their sinful tendencies. But this leads to people falling short of God’s expectations, to pray, repent, and then somehow are able to sin with greater ease. So, examine yourself, says Edwards, see if there is any lust mixed in with your righteousness. Could it be that while you say that you’ve yielded to the Anointed One as your Lord and Savior, you still have not surrendered to be in union with Him?[11]

Canadian evangelist Dyson Hague (1857-1935), makes a good point on what Paul says here in verse twenty-one about rules, rituals, and regulations replacing redemption, rebirth, and regeneration. He points back to the third chapter of Genesis as the basis of our Doctrine of Salvation. If there was no fall, there was no condemnation, no separation, and no need for reconciliation. If there was no need for reconciliation, there was no need for redemption; and if there was no need for redemption, the Incarnation was a frill and the crucifixion folly. So closely does the Apostle link the downfall of Adam and the death of Christ, that without Adam’s fall, the science of theology is emptied of its most salient feature, the atonement. If the first Adam was not made a living soul and fell, there was no reason for the work of the Second Man, the Lord from heaven. The rejection of the Genesis story as a myth tends to reject the Gospel of salvation. One of the chief cornerstones of the Christian doctrine is then removed if the historical reality of Adam and Eve is abandoned if the fall does not forever remain the starting point of God’s special revelation of salvation by grace, and of the need of personal regeneration. Then the seed of the entire apostolic Gospel is made dormant.[12]

Alvah Hovey proposes that the connection between verse twenty-one and the preceding verse may be thus stated: Having shown that the Law is inferior to the Promise, should we go a step further and conclude that it works against those who include it in their sanctified life? In fact, does it do anything to prevent the fulfillment of the Promise or to render it less necessary to human salvation? Let such a thought never enter the mind, says Hovey, it is incredulous! In the first place, the Law does not supersede the Promise and render its fulfillment useless, for it cannot give spiritual life, justification, or peace with God. And, in the second place, it prepares a person for Grace, which was promised through the Anointed One by awakening their hearts a sense of sin and leading them to the Savior. For if there had been a law given which could have offered life (make spiritually alive), then certainly righteousness would come by way of the Law. In this way, and in this alone, could the Law work against the fulfillment of the Promises. But, as proven before, it has no power to deliver a person from sin and death. Its purpose is far humbler, though exceedingly important^.[13]

 While Paul’s teaching here may be considered no longer important or useful because many Christians have come to depend solely upon the Anointed One for their justification in being called one of God’s children, it is also quite clear that from the beginning of the early church, rites, rituals, and regulations have taken the Law’s place. In some churches they went so far as to tell a converted sinner that if they didn’t read their Bible every day, pray every day, attend every church service, be baptized in the manner the church has adopted, receive communion a specific number of times during the month, etc., their entrance into heaven has been jeopardized and they are on their way to eternal punishment. If the Law could not save back in Paul’s day, these church ceremonies cannot save today.

[1] Marius Victorinus: On Galatians, op. cit., Edwards, M. J. (Ed.)., p. 48

[2] See Romans 8:3

[3] See Galatians 16-18, 22

[4] Jakob Arminius, Vol. 1, op. cit., Disputation 12. The Law of God, pp. 477-478 (Also see p. 336)

[5] Hebrews 2:2

[6] Deuteronomy 5:5.

[7] John 12:32

[8] Johann Bengel: The Critical English Testament, op. cit., p. 598

[9] John Wesley, Galatians: op. cit., pp. 32-33.

[10] 2 Corinthians 3:8-9

[11] Jonathan Edwards: Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, op. cit., Part III, Sect. XXII, (Kindle Location 16359)

[12] The Fundamentals – A Testimony to the Truth, R. A. Torrey, Ed., op. cit., Vol. 1, Ch. 14, pp. 238-239

[13] Alvah Hovey: On Galatians, op. cit., p. 48

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XXXIX)

I like the way one translation renders verse twenty: “When the promise was given to Abraham, God gave it without anyone standing between them.”[1] However, when God gave the Law, a mediator was needed because Abraham accepted his by faith while the Israelites accepted it as an obligation. In another place, I found this enlightening suggestion that the real force of the clause being examined here may be dealing with two revelations. So this rendition is offered: “The God of Sinai and of the Law is the same one as the God of Abraham’s promise – He is one and the same.”[2] From this, then we might conclude that the Final Covenant that Jesus made on the night of the Last Supper, needed no Mediator because the One who made it was the Son of God. When we add the influence and work of the Holy Spirit, there is no need for a middle person to get them to agree. They already agree because they are one God.[3] The reader must decide on their own what interpretation they find best suits their measure of faith.

Johann Bengel puts it concisely: There was not one God before and a different God after the giving of the Law, it was one and the same God. Before the Law, His transactions were done without a mediator; therefore, the mediator at Mount Sinai does not belong to God, but to the Law, whereas the promise belongs to God.[4] Thus Paul infers from the very manner of giving the Law, that the Law was given on account of sin; and thus the new objection in verse twenty-one is in harmony with where Paul asks: is the Law against the Promise of God? No! Never! Were it possible to be saved from the punishment of sin by obeying the Law, then being right with God would come through obeying the Law![5]

Philip Schaff (1819-1893), the well-known writer of the History of the Christian Church, mentions that Martin Luther’s time pursuing monastic and ascetic life was, in fact, in a preparatory school for his evangelical faith. It served the office of the Mosaic law, which, by bringing the knowledge of sin and guilt, leads as a tutor to Christ as Paul says here in verses twenty and twenty-four. The Law convicted, condemned, and crucified him; the Gospel comforted, confirmed, and made him come alive. The Law enslaved him; the Gospel emancipated him. Before he cowed like a slave; now, he celebrated like a son in his father’s house. Through the discipline of the Law, he died to the Law that he might live for God.[6] [7]

Frederic Rendall’s (1840-1906) treatment of what Paul says here in verses nineteen and twenty gives us the reasons for so much misunderstanding of Paul’s intention when teaching about the role of a mediator. A mediator is mostly needed to arbitrate the differences between two parties. It is not a one-on-one intercession. But in this case, the Law was given to a mediator, Moses, to help reconcile the many Israelites with their One True God. So, we ask, was a mediator even needed? In this case, Yes! Because Moses’ mediated reconciliation through the Law. But instead of the Law soothing the differences through love, grace, and mercy, it attempted to do so by using threats of judgment and punishment. Just as the death sentence is meant to deter people from committing serious crimes, it has proven ineffective in many cases because it’s a threat, a dare, a challenge for those who think they can get around it. And the Law produced just such an effect. That’s why it was so needful for a new Mediator to come and woo the sinner to the cross to find grace, mercy, and forgiveness.[8]

3:21:  So, I ask you, does that mean that religious rituals and regulations can replace God’s promise?  Absolutely not! If these religious rituals and regulations could give us new life, we could have gotten right with God’s simply by obeying them. 

We can clearly see that Paul is not arguing against the Law. After all, it was from God for His people. What he’s saying is that the Jews invested in powers the Law did not own nor which God intended for them to possess. Jesus was met with this same kind of skepticism about His intentions related to the Law. But Jesus told them, don’t think I’ve come to get rid of the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. What I came for is to make them complete. Let me tell you, as long as heaven and earth exist, not one small punctuation mark or syllable of a word will be removed from the Law of Moses until all is completed.[9] That’s why Paul could tell the Romans that the Gospel he preached did not do away with the Law when we put our trust in the Anointed One. That was not his intention at all. It simply meant that the Law was very important.[10]

But there was another thing. While the Law was no longer the center of one’s faith as they searched for ways to be right with God, it did remain part of one’s faith after they were made right with God by grace as a way of living right.[11] The Law was intended to show what sin was. And those who lived under the authority of the Law as far as their faith is concerned, cannot, therefore, say that they do not know what sin is. And even those who weren’t given a Torah will all stand before God. However, no person will be made right with God by doing what the Law says. The Law shows us how sinful we are and what we need is a Savior.

Now, since they cannot find a Savior in the Law, where do they look? That’s why God sent His Son to tell all mankind where a Savior can be found. That Savior came directly from God. It was not the Law that compelled God to send a Savior, but His love, mercy, and grace. So, salvation from sin is not something God demands because of the Law. It’s something He freely offers in spite of the Law. This is why Paul told the Romans, God devised another way to make people right with Himself. It is not by the Law. People become right with God by putting their trust in Jesus the Anointed One. God will accept anyone as long as they come to Jesus first.

This is important to know because God treats all people the same way. All of them sinned and missed the mark of becoming what God intended them to be. But any of them can be made right with God by the free gift of His loving grace. It is Jesus the Anointed One who bought them with His blood and made them free from their sins. God gave Jesus the Anointed One to the world. People’s sins can be forgiven through the blood of the Anointed One when they put their trust in Him. God gave His Son Jesus the Anointed One to show how right He is. Before this, God did not look at the sins that were done. But now God proves that He is right in saving people from sin. He shows that He is the One without sin. God makes anyone right with Himself, who puts their trust in Jesus.[12]

Paul was not the kind of person who talked the talk but did not walk the walk. He told the Philippians that he went through the religious rite of circumcision to become a Jew when he was eight days old. He was born in a Jewish family of the tribe of Benjamin. He was the Jewish son of Jewish parents. He was a proud member of the Pharisees. He followed his religious teachings with all his heart. No one could say anything against the way he obeyed the Law.

But he gave up all those things that were so important to him to pledge his never-dying allegiance to the Anointed One. All those so-called great achievements in following the Law he now considered worthless. He was far better off by knowing the Anointed One as his Lord and Savior. He threw away everything to follow Him. And he still considers all those things as useless so that he can have the Anointed One. Paul said, “I want to be as one with Him. I could not be right with God by what the Law said I must do. I was made right with God by faith in the Anointed One.”[13]

With all of Paul’s Jewish training, there is no doubt he heard what some Rabbis taught that the Torah is great for it gives life to its observers in this world, and in the World-to-Come. As is stated in Proverbs: Listen to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. Do not let them leave your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those, who find them and healing to their whole body.[14] And again in Proverbs, we find these words about the Torah’s Wisdom: “Don’t be conceited about your own wisdom, but fear Adonai and turn from evil. This will bring health to your body and give strength to your bones.”[15] And we read a little further down: “She [Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who grasp her; whoever holds fast to her will be made happy.”[16] [17]

Based on this, perhaps the Galatians thought Paul was too dismissive of Mosaic Law and its proper place in the believer’s life. So, he wants to clarify the relationship between what the believer is and what the believer does.  They want to know if being a Christian put someone above Mosaic Law. Is it proper for believers to think they don’t need any guidance? We might even ask if Mosaic Law was only for First Covenant saints, and Final Covenant saints are allowed to be free to live as they wish, as long as they worship God. No! No! No!

In fact, when it comes to accepting God as our heavenly Father and Jesus, the Anointed One as our Lord and Savior Mosaic Law plays no role nor exerts any influence. That’s not what God promised and ordained. Nonetheless, while salvation is a gift, becoming an effective and faithful servant is earned. Remember the parable Jesus told of the servants, one who received ten talents of silver, another who was given five talents of silver, and the one who was entrusted with one talent of silver. The first two earned the right to be called good and faithful servants because of their work on their master’s behalf while the last was admonished and dismissed because he did nothing to increase the talent given to him. Jesus was so right when He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life – when it comes to spiritual life.  He was also right when He said, I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in me and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit – when it comes to spiritual living.

[1] New Life Version

[2] The Expositor’s Greek Testament: Vol. III, Galatians, Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, Published by George H. Doran Company, New York, 1897, p. 172

[3] Matthew Poole: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit.

[4] Compare the unity of God, in reference to the same subject, in Romans 3:30; also 1 Timothy 2:5: and the oneness of God before and after the law both of which agree beautifully with the oneness of the seed before and after the law.

[5] Johann Bengel: On Galatians, op. cit, loc. cit., p. 592

[6] See verse 19

[7] Philip Schaff, History of Christian Church, Vol. 8, Bk. 1, Ch. 2, The Victory of Justifying Faith, p. 104

[8] Frederic Rendall: Expositor’s Greek Testament, On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., pp. 171-172

[9] Matthew 5:17-18

[10] Romans 3:31

[11] See Ibid. 7:7-11

[12] Romans 3:21-26. Cf. 9:31; 10:3-6

[13] Philippians 3:7-9

[14] Proverbs 4:20-22

[15] Ibid. 3:7-8

[16] Ibid. 3:18: Cf.  4:9; 9:11; 3:16

[17] Pirkei Avot: (Ethics of the Fathers), Ch. 6, para. 7

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XXXVIII)

As we know, Luke the physician, who wrote his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, spent quite a bit of time with the Apostle Paul.  It would be reasonable to believe that Luke shared these words Jesus spoke after His resurrection with Paul: “While I was with you before my death, I told you that everything written about Me in the Torah, and the Prophets, and in the Psalms, must be fulfilled.”

Paul begins by noting that the Mosaic Law does provide a vital service. First of all, he wants the reader to know that the Law God gave through Moses was not connected to the covenant made to Abraham. Therefore, the carrying out of the promises in the covenant was not contingent upon carrying out Mosaic Law. God did not want His children living and acting like the godless heathens in the world. He wanted them to be noticed because of their higher level of morality, honesty, and justice. But most of all, He wanted them to be His image and voice and arms and legs in the world, to carry out His goodness and kindness and love.  He wanted all they did to honor and glorify Him as the God above all gods. God knew His children still struggled with a corrupt nature inherited from Adam’s fall. So, He needed an external solution until He could provide an internal resolution for the curse of sin.

So, God authorized the implementation of Mosaic Law to show mankind his sinfulness and his need for salvation; for man to know that the only thing that stood between him and certain death was the mercy of God. But the Mosaic Law was only a temporary fix until a permanent remedy came through the Messiah. Once that happened, then the Mosaic Law would no longer be needed because their faith in the Messiah and following Him would make the Mosaic Law unnecessary.

The keeping of the Mosaic Law was not designed to make mankind comfortable in their sin, but keep them yearning for the Messiah to come and set them free from the slavery of sin. Mosaic Law served the purpose of helping train mankind to serve God through their flesh until they could serve God through their spirit. For once the Messiah came, there was nothing for anyone to gain no matter how long they followed Mosaic Law, but would, in fact, profit more because the Messiah came to fulfill all those sacrifices, and serving Him made it unnecessary to practice all the ceremonial laws and rituals as forms of worship in self-righteousness.

Paul is not attempting to do away with the need and necessity for guidance, instruction, motivation, teaching, commitment, dedication, and surrender to the will of God and His Word, in order to be a more useful and efficient believer; how would anyone know what sin was unless God showed them?  Why would mankind fear the punishment for sin unless God told him? But Paul wants the Judaizers and Galatian converts to know that none of these things are to be interpreted as necessary for obtaining or sustaining the free gift of salvation by faith in the Anointed One to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham. I wonder if Jesus’ words, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”[1] crossed Paul’s mind? There was a large yoke that harnessed two oxen together, but the word Jesus used was that of a “shoulder yoke,” – often used for carrying water buckets, indicating that with His help we are to do what pleases Him because it’s easy to put on and what the Anointed One gives us to carry, is light.

Needless to say, Paul’s comparison of Mosaic Law and the promise now gets somewhat more complicated to understand, but he feels it’s necessary in order for the Judaizers and Gentiles to comprehend why one cannot be mistaken for the other. We don’t know if the message Stephen delivered before the Sanhedrin prior to his stoning came to Paul’s attention, but the quote here of how Mosaic Law was given through angels sounds very close.[2] Jewish tradition accepted the deliverance of Mosaic Law as being accompanied by angels[3]

Paul also wanted to show the difference between the promise given to Abraham, and the Law given to Moses. In Moses’ case, he served as a mediator between God and the people; so, God delivered the Law to Moses and told him to enforce it by passing it on to the people of Israel. In Abraham’s case, God did not need a mediator because it only involved the two of them. It sounds a lot like how a married couple delivers their vows to each other. They don’t send their vows to each other through a mediator. No! They exchange their vows directly with each other.

Paul is far from condoning any elimination of the Mosaic Law with respect to its use in giving guidance, direction, instruction, conviction, understanding sin and its effects. However, he was upset that the Judaizers were misleading the Gentile believers, making them believe that the keeping of the ceremonial laws and rituals were part of God’s promise given to Abraham. Can you imagine the pressure this put on the new converts to Christianity throughout the Galatian churches, especially the Gentiles? What joy was there in being rescued from slavery to the rituals and regulations of heathenism, only to be tied again to the rituals and regulations of Judaism? It no doubt gave Paul many sleepless nights wondering why they were so willing to throw away the freedom they received through the Anointed One for such nonsense.

While serving as a regional mission’s superintendent in Asia, I remember getting a call from Southern India telling me that a group of ministers there were unhappy because they felt that since they represented smaller churches, they were being discriminated against by ministers representing larger churches in the same organization. I went to India to try and resolve the issue and was almost arrested for greeting the convention of over 20,000 believers because the minority group informed the police that I was not given the proper visa allowing me to preach. The minority group refused to accept me as a mediator because they believed I would rule in favor of the majority group.

Eventually, the two groups wound up in court, each claiming to be the authorized representatives of the organization. The Hindu judge finally called both groups in and said to them: “I’m a Hindu, you are Christians. I’ve been told that Christians are supposed to be loving and caring and kind to each other. But here you are in court suing each other over who should be in leadership. How do you expect me, a Hindu, to become a Christian, when I see you treating each other this way?” The two sides were so embarrassed they settled the matter out of court.

In 1970 Bill Gaither wrote a song that remains popular to this day. The lyrics are as follows: “I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God; I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood; joint-heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, for I’m part of the family, the Family of God… From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King, No longer an outcast, a new song I sing; from rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong, I’m not worthy to be here, but praise God! I belong! I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God; I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood; joint-heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, for I’m part of the family, The Family of God.” That’s the kind of song Paul wanted the Gentiles and Jewish believers in Galatia to sing.

Sometimes disagreements and discord inside a congregation can spill out into the open and the whole town ends up knowing about the conflict. Also, families that profess and are known to be good church-going, Bible-believing, people, sometimes show their carnal nature in disputes and feuds that gets the whole neighborhood to talking. And even though divorce is not popular among evangelical or Pentecostal believers, it nevertheless happens. But the harsh language and hateful attitude expressed sometimes makes even unbelievers who divorce, look like saints. Then again, whole denominations and churches split because they couldn’t agree on some doctrine or required way of living the holy life. Ask yourself, what does this say to the world? Does this enforce or hinder our witness to the world as recipients of the love of God? Would this make them wonder, why do you want me to become like you? No wonder Jesus told His disciples that the world would know they are His because they love one another.[4]

John Calvin enters into a discussion about the Anointed One as our Mediator. He says that when he takes a closer look at the subject, he spots marked differences between Jews and Gentiles. The first question is this: Is He the mediator between each of us individually before God, or is He the Mediator of all mankind of which we are but one part? No, says Calvin, the Anointed One is not the Mediator of each person. There is such a diversity of character and conditions among humankind, that Jesus sought a covenant with the Father for all those He represented. That the new and everlasting covenant He testified to during the Last Supper.[5] Just like Moses was not the mediator between each Israelite and God but between the Children of Israel as a whole. Had the Anointed One become a Mediator, the diversities of peoples would require a covenant between each man and woman with God based on their character and personality. Even with human logic that should be easy to discern.

So says Calvin, it is now clear. As the Anointed One formerly reconciled God to the Jews in making a covenant, so he is now the Mediator of the Gentiles. The Jews differ widely from the Gentiles; for circumcision and ceremonies erected “the middle wall of partition between them.”[6] The Jews were already close to God while the Gentiles were far, far away.[7] Yet God remained consistent with Himself. This becomes evident when the Anointed One brings those who formerly differed among themselves to one God, and makes them unite in one body. God is one because He always continues to be like Himself, it is with unvarying regularity that He maintains an unalterable purpose that caused Him to devise the plan of salvation.[8]

Verse twenty here puzzled many Bible scholars over the centuries. In fact, Charles Ellicott (1819-1905) says that there were as many as 430 different interpretations during his time. Almost all of them agree that a mediator is the one who stands in between two individuals or groups. In fact, there can be multiple factions on either side who may also need a mediator to settle their difference. The job of the mediator is to bring the two sides together to sign an agreement or contract agreeable to both.

Matthew Poole (1624-1679), an early Presbyterian minister in England notes that Moses was a mediator because he stood in between God and the children of Israel. That’s why Moses was given the Law so that he could go down the mountain and get the Israelites to agree that it was what they needed and they would follow it to the letter. As we know, the Israelites accepted God’s contract, but few, if any, ever lived up to their part of the agreement.

[1] Matthew 11:29

[2] Acts of the Apostles 7:53

[3] See Deuteronomy 33:2

[4] John 13:34-35

[5] Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24

[6] Ephesians 2:14

[7] Ibid. 2:13

[8] John Calvin: Biblical Cabinet, op. cit., loc, cit., pp. 83-84

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson XXXVII)

Alvah Hovey (1820-1903) enlightens us on what Paul was driving at when he asks in verse nineteen, why was the Law even given? Clearly, says Paul, it was given because of sin. And furthermore, it was an interim solution to be utilized until the Messiah came. Hovey notes that the Greek preposition charin translated as “because of” signifies, primarily, “for the sake of.” In Thayer’s Greek Lexicon it explains the phrase as, “for the sake of,” and “for this cause,” meaning, “transgressions” – that is, not to encourage or promote sinful behavior, but to show the true character of wrongdoing, and thereby increase a person’s consciousness of sin in order to create the desire for redemption. This interpretation is very much in harmony with the language of Paul in Romans,[1] and by his discussion, which follows in the next few verses.

So, we can conclude, says Hovey, it was the mission of the Law to awaken in mankind the consciousness of sin, in order that they may feel the need of a Savior. Even among the Gentiles, it was understood that it is part of human nature to be upset with restraint, and we’re sure to covet what was forbidden. That’s why conscious transgression is increased by a clear revelation of the Law and at the same time, distinctly aware of its contrary self-will and inclination to do something illegal even when they know it’s wrong.[2] From this, we can draw many comparisons. For instance, for a person with a greedy appetite, their sheer gain in weight makes them cumbersome, so they find it harder and harder to stand up and walk will tell them they need to make a change. And the uncontrolled drinking of alcohol that leads to alcoholism and its effects, especially the pain of detoxification, sends a message to give it up. Even children who love to play in the dirt will, after a while, ask Mommy if they can take a bath.

George W. Clark (1831-1911) makes a point that receiving the indwelling Spirit through listening to the Word by faith, is just as real as receiving His gifts. Unfortunately, some individuals in his day were limiting the receiving of the Spirit to His gifts through the baptism of the Spirit. At the moment of regeneration and new birth, the Spirit took up residence in order that they may then live for Messiah with the Spirit’s inner presence. Some people today are still confused by this. As Clark sees it, hearing the Gospel is a passive act of faith while responding to what one hears is an active act of faith. So, unless the active act of faith takes place, then simply hearing the message is not enough. Likewise, there can be no active act of faith unless the message is heard.[3]

George B. Stevens (1854-1906) states that “The principle of the Gospel predates and triggers the Law.” In other words, the teachings in the Gospel were already written down in heaven before the Law was written on Mt. Horeb. That’s because in the promise God made to Abraham of the inheritance of Canaan for all his descendants, was made before the Law was given. And in that promise, the one to inherit that promise was the promised Seed who would be born in the genealogy of the Promised son, Isaac. And this Promised Seed was none other than the only Son of God who existed with the Father since eternity past. And since no covenant signed by the maker can be changed, that means that while the Jews looked for a Messiah outside the line of David, it was predetermined by the covenant that it would only be given to one of David’s descendants. That is the only way that the royal line could be passed on to the Messiah.[4]

Arno Gaebelein (1861-1945) asks that if the Law cannot give the Spirit of God, if it cannot give righteousness, if the Law bestows no blessings on mankind, but pronounces a curse upon them, if it cannot, in any way, affect the original grace-covenant made with Abraham, confirmed in Isaac, then the logical question certainly is “Why did God give the Law?”  This seems to be Paul’s question here in verse nineteen. The answer is “It was added because of disobedience.” It was not added that sin might be curbed, or a person might be saved by it, but that every person might be established as a transgressor and their hopeless and guilty condition fully visible. It was introduced as a teaching tool in between the original promise to Abraham and its fulfillment in the Anointed One, in order that the corrupt moral condition of mankind might be more clearly seen.[5] Therefore, it was a mere addition “till the seed (the Anointed One) should come, to whom the promise was made.” And the Law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Angels in glory were present at Sinai;[6] God did not fully reveal Himself in His glory to the Israelites and so a mediator was needed, that is, Moses.

Paul’s statement “a mediator is not one person” means that mediatorship necessitates two parties. So, there were God and Israel, Moses stood in between as the mediator. But in the promise, the covenant made with Abraham and his seed, God was the only one who spoke. Its fulfillment is not (as in the law-covenant) dependent upon a faithful God and Israel’s obedience, but on God’s faithfulness alone; all depended upon God Himself. The mediatorship of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One is a different matter and not in view here at all. But the Law is not against the promises of God. Man needed life; the Law could not give that, neither could it give righteousness. All – Jews and Gentiles – were shut up sin’s prison. Therefore, the promise God made to Abraham might only be fulfilled through faith in Jesus the Messiah who was the only one who could set them free.[7]

Don Garlington feels that all the Apostle Paul said so far about the Law being unnecessary to one’s faith in God and the Anointed One, it would seem normal to ask the same question, “What was the purpose of the Law to begin with? Why was it necessary if in the end, it doesn’t count one iota toward our salvation?” Paul’s answer, says Garlington, is this: “It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred came.” The disputed part of verse nineteen is the statement that the Law was added “because of sin,” says Garlington. Here are a variety of understandings: to restrain transgressions; to multiply transgressions or increase the awareness of sins, thus showing humanity’s need of a savior.[8] Didn’t they know they would turn sin into a transgression against God? The Law makes it very clear that every sin is a sin against God. But the Law was also given in a positive manner to provide a way of dealing with transgressions, namely, in the sacrificial system. All in all, the most satisfactory interpretation of why the Law was necessary is that it filled the void “until the Promised Seed should come,” and with the proposition in verse twenty-four below, the Law was a disciplinarian to bring a repentant Israel to the Anointed One.[9]

This search for a savior led many Israelis to become involved in idolatry. The Torah was given expressly to preserve them as a distinct and peculiar people. The effect of placing the people under the Law was to preserve the promise of mercy through the Messiah, of which they were the chosen to maintain this gift from God until it came to pass. We might say the same thing today about the second coming of the Anointed One. The Gospel was given to the Christian church to keep them faithful and carry enough oil to keep their lamps burning until they hear the trumpet sound and the words, “Behold, the Groom is on His way!”

Alfred E. Bouter contends that the Law was added only for a limited time, “until the Seed came.” Who is the Seed? the Anointed One is, as we have seen. The Law was fulfilled in the death of Jesus Messiah which completed the Law’s purpose because everything it demanded was fulfilled. Some more details are then given about the character of the Law in order for us to see the difference between it and the system of grace. Law was ordained through angels in the hand of a mediator. God gave the Law to angels which means they were mediators; then the angels gave it through the hand of Moses, and Moses became the mediator on behalf of the people. So, there was a great distance between God and the people.

That raises the question: “Is there a great distance between God and us under grace?” No, we are His sons and daughters, so very close to God. This shows a difference in character. Paul told Timothy: “For there are one God and one mediator between God and mankind, Messiah, Jesus.” That means, the next question is, “In what way did He become our mediator. Paul goes on to tell Timothy: “by giving Himself as a ransom for all people.”[10] This is difficult to understand, says Bouter, but in the end, it implies that it all depends on God. God worked with the Israelites through slaughtered animals alone. Everything depends on God. Now God works with Christians through the sacrifice called, “The Lamb of God.”[11] When we try on the basis of works of Law then it depends on us and as a consequence, it will never work, but when it depends on God alone He is faithful and then things are fulfilled through the Anointed One and His sacrifice on the cross. That’s why God raised Him from the grave to become our King.

3:20 That’s because a mediator is only needed when two people must reach an agreement. In Abraham’s case, God acted on His own behalf when He gave His promise to him.

We can see that as far back as the righteous man Job, people thought that a mediator was needed between mankind and God. Job once felt dismayed that on his own he couldn’t defend himself before God. He said, “For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, that we might go to trial together. There is no arbitrator to decide the case for us, someone with the authority to discipline both of us.”[12] But Paul sees another way of looking at it. He told young Timothy, “There is one God. There is one Man standing between God and men. That Man is the Anointed One Jesus.”[13]

But unlike Job’s conclusion, Jesus does not overrule His Father in Heaven. All those matters are already settled. As our Mediator, when we displease the Father, Jesus His Son stands willing to plead for grace and mercy on our behalf by holding out His nail-scarred hands. Then to send the Holy Spirit with the message, if you will just confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin.[14] So it is not we who through tears and repentance, or many prayers and penance, earn God’s forgiveness. It is a gift that is always ready for those who are willing to see their need and humbly ask God if by His love, grace, and mercy He can forgive them.

[1] Romans 5:20; 7:7-9

[2] Hovey, Alvah: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., pp. 46–47

[3]George W. Clark: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 80

[4] George B. Stevens: Short Exposition of Galatians, op. cit., pp. 104-105

[5] See also Romans 3:20; 5:13, 20, 7:7-9

[6] Psalm 68:17

[7] Arno Gaebelein: The Annotated Bible, op. cit., p. 217

[8] See Romans 3:20; 4:15; 5:20

[9] Don Garlington: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., pp. 109-110

[10] 1 Timothy 2:5

[11] John 1:29, 36

[12] Job 9:32-35

[13] 1 Timothy 2:5

[14] 1 John 1:9