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As Christians reading the Old Testament, if we are to understand it properly – we need to ask the question, ‘Where is this going?’  In itself the OT is incomplete – it looks forward to Someone still to come, who will bring it to fulfilment.  As Paul shows in his discussion of Abraham, that ‘Someone’ is Christ.  We now consider Galatians 3:15-18 Law and promise.

1. The inviolable covenant

Central to Paul’s answer to the legalists are God’s dealings with Abraham, a figure highly revered by his opponents.  In v15 he takes ‘an example from everyday life’, using something familiar to his readers to teach a profound spiritual lesson, a method often used by Jesus.  Paul is concerned with God’s gracious covenant with Abraham.  In v15 Paul reminds readers that just as a human covenant (or ‘will’) cannot be tampered with nor can new terms be smuggled in, so God’s eternal covenant is inviolable.  It is established by an eternal, unchanging God.  Then Paul makes the crucial point that ‘The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise’ (v17).  The Mosaic law is a ‘late-comer’ and cannot be the basis for enjoying the covenant blessings of salvation.  The heart of that covenant is the gracious promise of God.  Works cannot replace God’s gracious promise and rewrite the covenant.

2. The promised Seed

Paul then states, ‘The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed’ (v16).  The content of the covenant is the promises of salvation (eg Genesis 13:15-16).  The high point comes in Genesis 22:18, after the provision of a ram for the sacrifice: In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed’.  Who is the seed?  Paul argues in v16 that it is singular.  The word itself can be singular or corporate – it is in the wider context of the OT that the singularity of the promised seed becomes clear.  This will be the Messiah, who fulfils Genesis 3:15, and so the reference to ‘your seed’ points to Christ.  The promises of the covenant are not to all the physical descendants of Abraham.  It is in Christ that the promises are fulfilled and the benefits are for those united to Christ by faith.  This was (at least in part) understood by Abraham, so that Jesus can say, ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day – he saw it and was glad’ (John 8:56).  No works brought the covenant blessing to God’s people.

3. The abiding promise

The law could not change or subtract anything from the covenant with Abraham, which was brought to fulfilment by God’s grace in the work of Christ.  The principle is stated in v18 ‘if the inheritance depends on law, then it no longer depends on a promise’.  There is a fundamental incompatibility between the principle of law and the principle of promise in relation to salvation.  This can also be stated in terms of works and faith.  The two cannot be combined, as Paul said in 2:16.  At the end of v18 Paul sums up his argument against the legalists: ‘but God in his grace gave [the inheritance] to Abraham through a promise’.  Here is the biblical gospel – salvation by grace through faith in Christ.  Salvation by works is impossible.  The law cannot save.  We are thus freed to believe in Christ for salvation.

Paul was a master apologist, a defender of the faith against all kinds of attacks.  We can learn much from Paul’s methods.  He often engaged opponents on their own ground, taking principles that they accepted and showing how these in fact support his position.  We see this in how he used the Scriptures against the legalists in Galatia.  We now consider Galatians 3:10-14 Becoming a curse for us.

1. Curse

Paul exposes the real condition of the legalists who rely on obedience to the law to be right with God.  He tells them, ‘All who rely on observing the law are under a curse’ (v10).  Their true spiritual standing before God is the opposite of what they believe it to be.  Their pride is groundless.  (They are like the Pharisees in Luke 18:9).  Paul has in mind Deuteronomy 27:26 which states that God, who is perfectly holy, requires perfect obedience from all men, to the written law or to the law written on their conscience.  One sin destroys our righteousness and constitute us sinners, bringing down God’s curse on us.

2. Faith

Paul draws the conclusion from Deuteronomy 27:26 (and from the entire OT): ‘no-one is justified before God by the law’ (v11).  How is justification to be obtained?  The answer is ‘we…have put our faith in Jesus Christ that we may be justified by faith in Christ’ (2:16).  Paul now reinforces this by citing Habakkuk 2:4 ‘The righteous will live by faith’ (v11).  To be righteous in God’s sight and to live a righteous life, a sinner must believe in Christ.  Law and faith are mutually exclusive as ways of seeking justification before the Lord.  The law requires perfect compliance (Leviticus 18:5), something only Christ could render.

3. Redemption

We cannot deliver ourselves from the curse, but God has provided the answer – ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us’ (v13).  The incarnate Son of God has acted as the Substitute for those under the curse of the broken law.  At the cross ‘God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us’ (2 Corinthians 5:21).  God’s justice has been satisfied and righteousness has been provided.  Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’.  Our curse has been taken by One who did not deserve it.  Christ provides redemption, with his blood the purchase price.

4. Blessing

The purpose of God’s gracious work in Christ: ‘in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus’ (v14).  In place of a curse, there is now blessing.  Note the vital link with Abraham.  Jews and Gentiles are saved in the same way as Abraham – by faith (v6).  The same truth is stated in another way – ‘so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit’ (v14).  The fruit of Christ’s redemptive work is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who creates the faith that leads to justification.  The work is fully trinitarian.

Prof. Stephen Neilly

Prof. Stephen Neilly

When we seek to establish or defend any point of Christian truth, our ultimate appeal must be to Scripture.  People in our culture often appeal to experience, but experience can be deceptive or misinterpreted.  We need a solid foundation of objective truth, such as Paul builds on here.  We now consider Galatians 3:6-9 Blessed with believing Abraham.

1. The faith of Abraham

‘Consider Abraham’ (v6) might seem to be an odd change of approach, but Paul has planned his argument carefully.  Abraham is the great father of the faith and Paul’s opponents probably appealed to him do defend insistence on obedience to the law as necessary for salvation.  As Paul shows, however, Abraham is the perfect example of salvation by grace through faith.  In the case of Abraham, ‘He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness’ (v6).  Paul is citing Genesis 15:6, which asserts the centrality of faith for a right standing before God.  Abraham ‘believed God’ when he trusted the promise of ‘seed’ – going back to the promise in Genesis 3:15, fulfilled in the saving victory of Christ.  It was not that God accepted Abraham’s faith as a substitute for obedience (thus turning faith into a kind of ‘work’ that Abraham supplied).  Faith was the God-given channel that conveyed God’s justification to believing Abraham.  His faith had no merit contributing to salvation.  Paul also destroys the legalism of the Judaizers in Romans 4:11 which shows that Abraham believed and was justified before circumcision was even commanded.

2. The children of Abraham

Note the unity of the plan of salvation – ‘those who believe are children of Abraham’ (v7).  It is by faith that Jews and Gentiles are admitted to the Covenant of Grace.  There has only ever been one way of salvation.  Being ‘Abraham’s seed’ is not a matter of physical descent but of spiritual kinship by faith (see v29).  Paul continues to oppose the legalists in the Galatian churches.  He stresses that belonging to the seed of Abraham is not a matter of law keeping or receiving circumcision, as he spells out in Romans 2:28-29 – ‘a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code’.  The glorious principle is stated in v9 ‘So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith’, and receive the same salvation.

3. The hope of Abraham

What Paul says about justification by faith, such as Abraham experienced, means that this blessing is equally for Gentiles.  Thus we read in v8 ‘The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith’.  This had always been God’s plan, and there is no other hope for Gentiles.  Note the surprising words ‘The Scripture…announced the gospel in advance to Abraham’ – quoting the promise of Genesis 12:3.  This was explained further in Genesis 22:18 ‘In your seed all nations on earth will be blessed’.  As Paul knows full well, that ‘seed’ is Christ (v16).  Here is the gospel in the Old Testament, the good news of justification by faith in Christ.  It is available to Jew and Gentile without distinction, as God gathers an innumerable multitude of saved sinners (Revelation 7:9).

Some relationships begin well but in the course of time they turn sour.  The early promise is not realised.  The fault may lie with one or both parties in the relationship.  This kind of change is evident in the spiritual life of the Galatians.  One major reason for Paul’s letter is the change he sees in their approach to their relationship with the Lord and the speed with which this has happened. We now consider Galatians 3:1-5 Going on as you began.

1. How had the Galatians gone astray?

Paul once again addresses them directly – in strong language: ‘You foolish Galatians’ (v1).  ‘Foolish’ is not a comment on their intellectual capacity.  The issue is their use, or failure to use, the knowledge of gospel truth that they have.  The problem really lies in their heart attitude to the truth they received.  They are guilty of not applying the truth for their spiritual health and growth.  ‘Who has bewitched you?’ This is a graphic way of describing the deception by false teachers of people who ought to know better (and who are therefore guilty for their failure).  The issue is their abandoning the core truths of the gospel they once embraced – they are not going on as they began.  ‘Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly crucified’ – the vivid preaching of the gospel by Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13).  Through this gospel ‘we…have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ’ (2:16).  Abandoning this message puts the person and work of Christ in question.

2. How do we begin the Christian life?

Paul recalls the Galatians’ initial response to the gospel – ‘filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 13:52).  They began ‘with/by the Spirit’ (v3) – a saving response to the gospel is God’s gift.  Salvation comes not by law-keeping but ‘by believing what you heard’ (v2).  Paul returns to the contrast he has already expounded.  Justification is by faith in Christ (2:16).  There is no place for legalism, allowing a role in salvation to human effort or works.  That is the principle stated in 2:16 ‘by observing the law, no-one will be justified’.  The Galatians had responded to the gospel on the basis of faith, hence their being filled with joy and with the Spirit (Acts 13:52).

3. How must we continue the Christian life?

Paul now exposes their folly, and that of Peter and Barnabas: ‘After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?’ (v3; ESV ‘are you now being perfected by the flesh?’).  The fundamental contradiction is beginning by grace but trying to continue by works.  The ‘flesh’ denotes what unaided and imperfect human nature can offer.  They are trying to combine conflicting and incompatible paths, grace and works.  Here is a deep irony: they describe this following of works as ‘being perfected’ when in fact it is a path that leads away from growth in holiness.  Paul recalls their past experience – ‘Have you experienced (or ‘suffered’) so much for nothing?’ – they are in danger of throwing away the early blessings of salvation by faith.  Paul seeks to awaken them – ‘Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard?’ (v5).  We must go on in the same way as we began, by faith in the Lord.