In this passage Paul continues his reference to Genesis
scripture references to support his theology that faith is the foundation. He is careful to not denounce the covenant
with God that included the law. He
simply puts the law covenant in its respective place.
In the last lesson, Galatians 3:1-9, Paul connects the
promise of faith with the promise to Abraham, quoting Genesis that in Abraham,
all nations will be blessed. Because of
Abraham’s faith (Gen 15:6) God counted him righteous. Also in Genesis 22, Abraham showed faith by
following through with God’s instruction to sacrifice Isaac. Because of this faith (shown through willing obedience),
God intervened and did not allow the sacrifice.
Galatians 3:15-29
·
v3:15-18 – Paul is making a point that God’s
covenants do not replace or annul each other.
o
It is interesting that this issue, even though
addressed by Paul over 2000 years ago, still seems to be a challenge for some
today.
o
Keep in mind that Paul has spend the last few
paragraphs building a case that righteousness and justification are granted by
faith, using God’s blessing on Abram that all the families of the earth will be
blessed through Abram and that God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness (Gen
12:3 and Gen 15:6)
o
v16 – offspring
vs. offsprings – OR – seed vs. seeds
§
Genesis
22:18 - “and in your offspring shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
§
Genesis
26:4 - “I will multiply your offspring
as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in
your offspring all the nations of
the earth shall be blessed”
o
The Hebrew
root word for seed is zera. Like the English equivalent, this word can be
used for singular or plural, depending on how you use the word and in which
context. The two above verses use a
unique variation of the root Hebrew word, which seems to only be used twice in
all of Hebrew scriptures.
·
v17 & 18 – Back to the point he made in
verse 15. One covenant does not annul
the previous covenant. The covenant
given to Abraham was not annulled by the covenant 430 years later given through
Moses.
o
God’s promise to Abraham was unconditional
§
Abraham
did not participate in the ritual
§
Land, Uncountable descendants, chosen people, blessing
to all nations
o
God’s promise through Moses was conditional
§
Multiple / countless blessings
§
Required obedience to the commands given
o
Jews, at the time, had tied inheritance and
salvation to the Mosaic covenant (v18) and to works. Paul is connecting the
blessing of God back to the original, unconditional covenant with Abraham.
·
V19-23 – This is a critical argument that Paul
is making. Obviously he is laying the
groundwork for those that would consider doing away with the law, or for those
that would attempt to twist his words, claiming he was doing away with the law.
o
v19 – The connection of the offspring through
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through to Jesus as the one offspring that would bless
all nations.
o
v20 – Jewish belief is that God is one in the
singular only. Trinity is not acceptable
to traditional Judaism because the scriptures state that God is one and to have
no other gods before Him. Because of
this very literal and strict belief, the terminology of a mediator or
intermediary is delicate enough that Paul felt the need to clarify his
intention by stating God is one. Paul is
pointing to Moses as an intermediary, which God worked through.
§
“put in
place through angels” – also referenced in Acts 7:53 and Hebrews 2:2 – any
thoughts on this? I started to dig into
this but it seems that it could a very deep study.
o
v21 – Two very distinct and critical points can
be drawn from this verse.
§
Point 1 –Paul very clearly pointed out that the
law is not contradictory to God’s promises.
§
Point 2 –The law is separate in the regard that
the law was never intended to justify or save
§
God’s covenant through Abraham = “The Promise”
·
Unconditional promise of land, inheritance, and
blessing
§
God’s covenant through Moses = “The Law”
·
Conditional covenant of blessings and curses if
the law is obeyed.
·
Does not undo (or ratify) the previous covenant
through Abraham
§
This is a tough concept to process for many. Common teaching is that the law is contrary
to God’s promise and that the law was done away with. In fact, the law was not done away with, but
has a very distinct purpose all on its own.
·
v24-25 – The law was our guardian (tutor,
schoolmaster)
o
Greek: paidagōgos | English: Pedagogue or Pedagogy
§
The word comes from the Greek παιδαγωγέω
(paidagōgeō); in which παῖς (país, genitive παιδός, paidos) means
"child" and άγω (ágō) means "lead"; literally translated
"to lead the child". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy)
§
“The word
pedagogue actually relates to the slave who escorts Roman children to school….The pedagogue's job is usually distinguished
from a teacher's by primarily focusing on teaching children life-preparing
knowledge such as social skills and cultural norms, etc. There is also a very
big focus on care and well-being of the child. Many pedagogical institutions
also practice social inclusion. The pedagogue's work also consists of
supporting the child in their mental and social development.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy)
§
Paul used a very common picture that everyone,
at that time, would be familiar with.
Children would be under the care of a pedagogue. The pedagogue would be responsible for
teaching manners, social skills, etiquette, and ensuring that the children got
to school on time, thus handing off
the children to the teacher.
§
Think about the picture Paul painted. He is relating the Torah to a pedagogue. The Torah provided instructions for how to
define community, how to treat each other, social interaction, manners,
employment, eating habits, hygiene, etc.
o
v25 completes the analogy “now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian”
§
The analogy is completed by understanding the guardian’s
(Torah or law) purpose was to hand us off (point us) to the teacher
(Christ).
§
When the pedagogue escorted children to the
teacher, everything the pedagogue taught the children was not disregarded. That is absurd to even consider. Just as absurd as Jesus asking us to forget
or disregard the teaching of God’s law.
As a lawyer would lay out their case before a jury, Paul has
done the same here. Paul uses direct
scripture reference from the Old Testament to illuminate God’s original
covenant, based on Abraham’s faith. He
then takes that scripture reference apart to prove his argument and set the
foundation. Like a brilliant teacher, he
continues his argument by using common examples that were easy to picture for
his readers. Jesus taught in parables to
illuminate his message to his followers.
Paul is really doing something similar here by using the analogy of a
pedagogue, which would have been common in an area filled with Roman culture,
like Galatia.
Paul spends a lot of time providing the groundwork that
justification comes from faith, but makes the very specific point that the
second covenant is not annulled and that the laws of Moses have their
purpose.
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