CHAPTER THREE

3:ALL:  The theology of Paul’s, in this Chapter of “works of the Law,” are by his definition self-righteous works, and are therefore under the curse of God (see verse 10).  But the true “works of the Law” are faith and love, which must not be seen as isolated incidents that deserve merit before God, but as the demonstration of a transformed character.

3:1:  “foolish” = The Greek word here is ”anoetoi,” and comes from the Greek word for mind, “nous.”  Therefore, Paul is literally saying, you “mindless Galatians, who hath bewitched you?”

“Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth” = The Galatians’ apostasy on the Gospel is that they knew salvation was rooted in the Cross of Christ.  It was something that they should not have missed.  The word translated “portrayed,” Greek, “prographo,” which is where we get our English word “portrait” from, literally meaning, “placarded,” or “painted.”  It was used to describe all public proclamations.  Paul is saying that the Cross was such a central part of his preaching that the Galatians had, in effect, seen in their mind’s eye, Christ crucified.  In a sense, he is saying that, by their actions, they are turning away from the Cross.

Paul then contrasts the current experience of the Galatians with how they first came to faith in Christ.  He does this by asking them a rhetorical question.  How did they receive the Spirit, meaning how did they first become Christians?  It was because they believed the good news of what Christ had already done for them.  Having begun so well, what would make them think that now they had to rely upon their own righteousness?

The problem seems to be a misunderstanding of “faith.”  Does faith make you want to “just believe,” or “to believe and therefore want to obey?”

3:2:  “Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith” = To answer this question, we receive God’s Spirit not just by keeping God’s Law, but by faith in the Loving God Who gives/gave us His Law.  In Paul’s theology, “works of the law” are by definition, works of “merit-seeking” (see Gal. 2:16), and as such, works of “self-righteousness,” which are, “under a curse.”  But the keeping of God’s righteous Law is not a “curse,” but a blessing when you are obedient to It.

3:10:  “works of the Law are under the curse” = Many take the first part of this verse and conclude that the Law of God, that He wrote with His Own hand, is now a “curse” if you keep It.  How silly.  Finishing the verse tells us differently, in that “one that continueth,” NOT in the keeping of God’s Law is “Cursed.”  Therefore, what does the first part really say or mean?

Our first KEY is found in verse two, where we understand that we receive God’s Spirit by loving God and His Law.

Our second KEY is, “it is written.”  Where?

Deuteronomy 11:26:  Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 

Deuteronomy 11:27:  A blessing, if ye obey the Commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:

Deuteronomy 11:28:  And a curse, if ye will not obey the Commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I Command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. 

Deuteronomy 11:29:  And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

And according to Deuteronomy 29:20 the “curses” are:  “all the curses that are written in this Book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under Heaven [that’s actually all three of the Jewish understood heavens.  In other words; you’re lost forever; no one can find you].”  God’s Law is the fence that guards you from disobeying God.  You are then in His protection.  Anyone outside of that fence is “cursed.”

“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them” = “The terms of the ‘old covenant’ were, Obey and live:  ‘If a man do, he shall even live in them;’ but ‘cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this Law to do them (Deu. 27:26).’  The ‘new covenant’ was established upon ‘better promises,’ -- the promise of forgiveness of sins, and of the grace of God to renew the heart, and bring it into harmony with the principles of God’s Law. {Jer. 33:33-34 quoted}.  The same Law that was engraved upon the tables of stone, is written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the Heart.  Instead of going about to establish our own righteousness, we accept the righteousness of Christ.  His blood atones for our sins.  His obedience is accepted for us.  Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring forth ‘the fruits of the Spirit.’  Through the grace of Christ we shall live in obedience to the Law of God written upon our hearts.  Having the Spirit of Christ, we shall walk even as He walked.”  PP:372.

3:11:  “The just shall live by faith” = See Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews 10:38.

3:12:  “shall live in them” = Here is my Leviticus 18:5 Note:  Having thus received life, he “lives,” that is, maintains, enjoys, and exercises this life only in so far as he walks “in them,” or “by them,” as Romans and Galatians have it, that is, the Laws of God.

“The statues and judgments given of God were good for the obedient.  ‘They should live in them.’  But they were not good for the transgressor; for in the civil Law given to Moses, punishment was to be inflicted on the transgressor, that others should be restrained by fear.”  1SP:266.

3:13:  “from the curse of the Law” = Take note that God’s “Law” is not a “curse;” but the penalty for disobedience to God’s “Law,” It’s penalty, is the “curse.”

To be specific about the phrase “of the Law” (which is a poor translation), Paul is literally saying, “everyone who is outside of the Torah is under the curse.”  This can be clearly seen by going to the verses in the Old Testament that Paul is quoting from (Deu. 11:26-28; then see Mat. 25:41).  Let’s be clear.  If you are outside of God’s Law you are “under the curse [PERIOD; I write this in capitals in case you cannot see the “period” after these brackets].”

3:17:  “the Law” = Since we know that “sin is the transgression of the Law,” First John 3:4, and as such, God regards sin as the breaking of His Law (Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:13; 7:7; 1Co. 15:56; Gal. 2:17-19; 3:10 & 22), therefore, since the Bible states that Satan “sinneth from the beginning,” First John 3:8, God’s Law has always existed.  See also:  Genesis 4:7; Genesis 13:13; 17:1-4; 18:19; 26:5; Exodus 5:5 [“rest” = “Sabbath”]; 13:9; 16:28 (note the plural); 18:16; 19:5; First Chronicles 16:15-17; Psalm 105:44-45; Ezekiel 28:15; John 8:44; Romans 5:12-13; Second Corinthians 3:3-11; Galatians 3:17-22; Second Peter 2:4; First John 3:8; Revelation 11:19; and many others I have missed.  Therefore, the meaning here is that before Sinai it was passed down verbally “from Adam to Moses,” Romans 5:14, until Moses received God’s Law in writing.

“four hundred and thirty years” = See Exodus 12:40.  Then see my Bible Study:  “EGYPT, HOW LONG IN.”  Basically, the counting of 430 years begins with Abraham and ends with God’s voicing and writing down of His always existed Law at Sinai.

3:18:  “the inheritance. . . by promise” = That is, “by promise,” “the inheritance” was given to Abraham, and he was accounted righteous because of his “faith,” Romans 4:13, in the “promise.”

3:19:  “Wherefore then serveth the Law?” = Anything that follows after this statement that is confusing, is then no longer confusing when we go back to basics, i.e., this opening statement.  What is this statement in simple language stating?  “What is the reason for God’s Law?”  Answer, to show us our sin(s), which then leads us to a Savior.

“the Law?  It was added {It was added see below}” = Transgressions have not ceased; so therefore, the Law must still be in effect.  To argue that God’s Law had a beginning would be a more interesting perspective.  Paul is here contrasting “condemnation and justification.”  And the chief point of his argument is that “no man is justified by the Law in the sight of God,” verse 11.  Please take note that the argument is not whether the Law operates or not, but whether it operates as a justifier of guilty sinners.  We already know it condemns the unrepentant.

A responsible study of Paul’s view of the Law calls for an analysis of all his references to the Law, and not only of a few of the Galatian texts where the Apostle speaks of the Law in its narrow, negative function of exposing sin, in order to counteract the exaltation of the Law; especially regarding circumcision.  Paul clearly spells out in many other texts that the Law of God is necessary as a justifier from (in order not to) sin (Gal. 3:21 [“God forbid”] & 24; Rom. 2:13; 3:20 & 31; 7:7-12; 8:4 & 7).

In verse 18 Paul emphasizes again that “the inheritance” is not by “Law,” but “by promise,” and in verse 21 he states, “if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the Law.”  The Law could not save or justify the transgressor.  All it could do was condemn the sinner and point forward to “the Seed” Who “should Come.”  That Seed was Christ and He would be able to justify them and deliver them from the condemnation of the Law.  But even then, the Law would not cease to exist.  Its function of pointing out sin would ever be needed to turn back to Christ (the “Mediator,” verse 19) any that deviated from the path of justification and obedience.

That Paul does seem to make some negative statements about the Law (Gal. 3:19 & 25), which, taken in isolation, can lead people to believe that Christ terminated the function of the Law as a norm for Christian conduct is seen by some here.  By contrast, to understand these passages, it is important to remember that Paul’s treatment of the Law in Galatians is conditioned by the crisis caused by the false teachers who had come in to “trouble,” and “bewitched” his Galatians converts (Gal. 1:7; 3:1; 5:12).  Apparently they were leading his converts astray by teaching that in order to be saved, one need not only to have faith in Christ, but must be circumcised.

That the message of the agitators was primarily built around the requirement of circumcision is underscored by Paul’s warning in Galatians 5:2:  “Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”  See also Galatians 6:12-13.  However, Paul turns his opponents’ argument on its head by arguing that God’s covenant with Abraham was based on his faith response (Gen. 15:6; Gal 3:6) even before the sign of circumcision was given (Gen. 17:9-14).  From this Paul concludes:  “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”  Galatians 3:7.  Paul develops this argument further by setting the promise given to Abraham (in Genesis 18:18) against the giving of the Law at Sinai which occurred 430 years later (Gal. 3:15-18).  The fact that the covenant with Abraham was one of promise based on faith excludes the possibility of earning righteousness by works (Gal. 3:18).

By contrast, if salvation was by way of “faith” and not of Law, what then was the role of the Law in God’s redemptive purpose?  Paul’s answer is both novel and unacceptable to Judaism.  The Law “was added because of transgressions,” Galatians 3:19.  The Law was not “added” to save men from their sins, but to reveal the sinfulness of their transgressions.  Please do not suppose by this statement that God’s Law did not previously exist; for then you would have to come to the conclusion that there was a time when God did not exist; for He is the Law.  The point is that the Law becomes “added” or active when sin operates.  However, see my definition of the Greek word “added” below which changes the sentence structure entirely.

In this context, Paul speaks of the Law in its narrow, negative function of exposing sin, in order to counteract the exaltation of the Law by its opponents.  This constricted view of God’s Law still in no way cancels Its mighty function as an operative in our hearts (Jer. 31:33; 2Co. 3:3; Heb. 8:10; 10:16) subjecting us to our hearts obedience out of love for God and His righteous requirements.

It is difficult to imagine that Paul would announce the abolition of the Decalogue, God’s great Moral Law, when elsewhere he affirms that the Law was given by God (Rom. 3:2; 9:4), was written by God (1Co. 9:9; 14:21 & 34), contains the will of God (Rom. 2:17 & 18), bears witness to the righteousness of God (Rom 3:21), and is in accord with the promises of God (Gal 3:21).  Therefore, so long as sin is present in the human nature, the Law is needed to expose its sinfulness (Rom 3:20) and reveal the need of a Savior.

Paul is only distinguishing between the temporary aspects of the Law, like circumcision, and the permanent nature of the Decalogue, which reflects the “moral standard” of a new life in Christ.  On the basis of the above considerations, we conclude that Paul’s negative comments about the Law in Galatians, Chapter 3, must be understood in the light of his policies against the false teachers who were exalting the Law, especially circumcision, as a means of salvation.  In refuting the perverse and excessive exaltation of the Law, Paul is forced to depreciate it in some measure, especially because the issue at stake was the imposition of circumcision as a means of salvation.

“It was added” = For those who want to prove that the Ten Commandments were not in existence before Mount Sinai, consider that “added” and “created” are two different meanings and words.  It is also true that to add something [salt] to something else [soup] does not mean it was not already in existence.  However, the Greek word “prostithemi,” translated here as “added,” should be translated as “spoken,” just as it is in Hebrews 12:19.  This is the same Greek word as used in the “Septuagint’s” rendering of Deuteronomy 5:22, where we read that, “God spoke” the Ten Commandments, “and He added [or spoke] no more.”  It is translated as “given” in Mark 4:24.  Either word would better serve as a more correct translation and understanding of correct doctrine.

However, a literal translation of the Greek word, “prostithēmi,” is, “to put to; add.”  If we use the literal, it would mean that God’s Law was not “put into action” until there was sin taking place.  See John 8:44 & First John 3:8 for Satan as the originator of sin.  Also, “sin is not imputed when there is no Law,” Romans 5:13.  Plus, since the Law was “ordained by angels,” that puts Its beginning well before Sinai.

“because of transgressions” = Not that there had been none yet, but:  “Moreover the Law entered, that the offence might abound.”  Romans 5:20.  In other words, “that sin by the Commandment might become exceeding sinful,” Romans 7:13.

“till” = The mistake readers often make with this passage is to assume that the word “till” always implies a limited duration of time.  This is not the case.  For some examples, Psalm 112:8 states, “His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.”  Are we then to assume that when he triumphs, he will then become afraid?  In Revelation 2:25 Jesus says, “But that which ye have already hold fast till I Come.”  Does Jesus mean that once He Comes we no longer need to be faithful?

The role of God’s Law did not end with the First Coming of Christ, nor will it end with His Second Coming; otherwise there is no reason for the Sentencing Judgment to follow.  What Paul is saying is that the First Coming of Christ marks a decisive turning point in human history.  Christ can do what the Law could never do -- provide a true remedy for sin.  That is, justify sinners by His Spirit fulfilling His Law in them (see Rom. 8:3-4).

“ordained by angels” = Or better, agreed upon by angels, and therefore, “prescribed” by them, as “Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries” puts it.

3:21:  “God forbid” = Honest readers who read this far into Paul discourse, can clearly come to the conclusion that Paul is not in any way canceling or diminishing God’s Law.  And, all of my arguments and commentary above would not need to be necessary.

“a Law given which could have given life” = Obviously, nothing in God’s Law can make you live; only the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ gives us life.  By contrast, to disobey God’s Holy Law, is to sacrifice your life for sin.

“The Law of Ten Commandments is not to be looked upon as much from the prohibitory side, as from the mercy side.  Its prohibitions are the sure guarantee of happiness in obedience.  As received in Christ, It works in us the purity of character that will bring joy to us through eternal ages.  To the obedient It is a wall of protection.  We behold in It the goodness of God, Who by revealing to men the immutable principles of righteousness, seeks to shield them from the evils that result from transgression.”  1SM:235.

3:23:  “But before faith came” = The key to this text is in the first four words:  “But before faith came.”  Paul is talking about his condition of condemnation before he exercised faith in Christ.  Being “under the Law,” is defined in Romans 3:19 as being “guilty before God,” and under the condemnation of It, leading to the sentence of death.  During those years of sin, Paul was “kept under the Law,” i.e., held in the prison house of disobedience.  In Romans 7:23, he spoke of that experience of condemnation as “bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin.”

Nevertheless, even when Paul was outside of Christ, without faith, the Law was operating on his conscience (through the power of the Holy Spirit), magnifying his misery and condemnation (Rom. 7:13) and leading him step by step like a schoolmaster (Gal. 3:24) to the Savior.  After being directed to Christ by the Law, Paul says we are “justified by faith.” This is what the Law could not do.  It could not justify, it could only condemn.  Christ freely forgives and delivers us.

3:24:  “the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” = Here is the entire point.  When “Christ is in you, you have the hope of glory,” Colossians 1:27.  There is now no longer a condemnation of God’s Law being applied to the obedient Christian.  God’s Law is internalized (Jer. 31:31-33) through the power of Jesus’ Love towards the sinner.

However, this verse clearly establishes that God’s Law still exists and is in force when it is not obeyed (transgressed).  Therefore, the above argument need not to have been made except for those who would cancel God’s Law.

To cancel God’s Law is to cancel God Himself, for It is His character.  What household that has rules for its children has not known that guidelines are what the character of the parent is?  To truly love God is to learn Who God is.  You need to learn to love God for Who He is; then obedience is not a chore but a blessing.  See Galatians 5:14 & my Galatians 5:14 Note.

“The Law of Jehovah dating back to creation, was comprised in the two great principles, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.  This is the first Commandment.  And the second is like, namely this:  Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  There is none other commandment greater than these.’  These two great principles embrace the first four Commandments, showing the duty of man to God, and the last six, showing the duty of man to his fellowman.  The principles were more explicitly stated to man after the fall, and worded to meet the case of fallen intelligences.  This was necessary in consequence of the minds of men being blinded by transgression.”  ST, April 15, 1875; RH, May 6, 1875; 1BC:1104.4.

“The Law of God existed before the creation of man or else Adam could not have sinned.  After the transgression of Adam the principles of the Law were not changed, but were definitely arranged and expressed to meet man in his fallen condition.  Christ, in counsel with His Father, instituted the system of sacrificial offerings; that death, instead of being immediately visited upon the transgressor, should be transferred to a victim which should prefigure the great and perfect offering of the Son of God.”  ST, March 14, 1878; 1BC:1104.5.

“In consequence of continual transgression, the Moral Law was repeated in awful grandeur from Sinai.  Christ gave to Moses religious precepts which were to govern everyday life.  These statutes were explicitly given to guard the Ten Commandments.  They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ.  They were to be binding upon men in every age as long as time should last.  These Commands were enforced by the power of the Moral Law, and they clearly and definitely explained that Law.”  ST, April 15, 1875; RH May 6, 1875; 1BC:1104.6.

“justified by faith” = See Romans 3:28 Note.

“schoolmaster” = “What Law is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ?  I answer:  Both the ceremonial and the moral code of Ten Commandments.”  1888M4:1725; 1SM:233; 6BC:1109; 1MR:131.  See my Bible Study:  “(613) THE LAWS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.”

3:25:  “no longer under a schoolmaster” = Then, the last point Paul makes, is that we are no longer under the Law, but under grace.  After bringing us to Christ the Law no longer condemns, because we do not dread It as Christians (see verse 12; 1Jo. 3:6 & 9; 5:18).  It will still stand by to shepherd us back to Christ if we depart from His grace.  But It no longer condemns us as transgressors as long as we abide in Him.  Wherefore, let us consider again, “But before faith came,” verse 23.  When does faith come?  “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”  Romans 10:17.  When therefore, a man yields to the righteousness of Christ and His Word, he is no longer “kept under the [condemnation of the] Law,” but a doer “of the Law,” Romans 2:13.

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