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GALATIANS CHAPTER THREE

LESSON: \NTBOOKS\GAL\Gal 2007\Gal-03e 2007.doc

INTRODUCTION:

According to a third century rabbi, Moses gave 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands. David reduced them to eleven in Psalm 15. Isaiah made them six (Isaiah 33:14, 15). Micah 6:8 binds them into three commands. Habakkuk reduces them all to one great statement: The just shall live by faith.

Dr. Phil Williams, Dallas Theological Seminary, in his 1976 Romans Class stated: The law is the light that reveals how dirty the room is, not the broom that sweeps it clean.

OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO GALATIANS, CHAPTER TWO, v 6

Galatians 3:6-4:31 The Doctrinal Portion which Discusses the purpose of the Old Testament Law:

Purpose of the OT or Mosaic Law:

  1. A constitution for the nation of Israel
  2. Described the Holiness of God: Be Holy as I am Holy (Leviticus 19:2)
  3. Describes the sinfulness of mankind – Hence for the UB to point to need of salvation
  4. Gave freedom and individual responsibility to man in areas not covered in the Law. Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32 Do not add to the Law
  5. Controlled Israel until the Messiah, the Promise should come

Galatians 3:19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made.

  1. Described what would be imputed to Christ at the Cross

Romans 5:13 for until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

[If Time allows: What the Law could not do: LAW LIMITS.doc]

TWO CONTRASTS of men of faith and men of law (vv 9-10 and vv 11-12):

Galatians 3:9-10 The contrast of men of faith and men of works

v 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

v 10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; For it is written(Deuteronomy 27:26), cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

v 11-12 A further contrast of the men of faith and the men of law:

v 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident (or clear); for, THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

This is in contrast to the blessing of verse 9 that comes out of faith.

BEFORE GOD is , which means to stand before and since it is God alone who justifies we can see a picture of standing before God and being evaluated.

For the man of faith, , God sees us in Christ and speaks well of us.

For the man of works of law, no justification.

Paul then quotes Habakkuk 2:4 The just (those having been justified) shall live by or out from faith(Also found in Romans 1:17 and Hebrews 10:38

Faith was the system then as it was when Paul wrote this and as it is now. There are not multiple systems of justification nor of sanctification

OLD TESTAMENT: Justified on credit looking ahead to the Savior. Called shadow Christology. Live by faith

NEW TESTAMENT C.A.: Justified as we look back to the Savior. Called historical Christology. Live by faith.

The man who is justified by faith will then by faith:

Verb WILL LIVE is a future, middle, indicative which means that we will benefit and have the advantage according to God's plan when we live by faith.

PRINCIPLE: There is virtue in living by faith because we put our faith in God, His Son, the Spirit, and the WOG. This is the demands of God's plan . . . live by faith.

Verses on our faith in the invisible God and His plan:

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the reality of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen.

John 20:29 Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

I Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Romans 14:23b Whatever is not from faith is sin.

PRINCIPLE: We as Christians live by faith, putting our trust in our Heavenly Father who has done everything for us.

These verse, Galatians 3:11, relates back to Galatians 2:20. We are crucified with Christ, nevertheless we live, but we do not live but Christ lives in us.

It is only by faith that Christ lives through us.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.

Turn to II Corinthians 4:5-18:

At verse 13 Paul quotes Psalm 116:10

THEREFORE: The only way the Christian can truly live is by faith in all that God provides; believing the greater reality of God and His Word over anything we might think is real.

Back to Galatians 3:12

v 12 Paul continues his denunciation of the law or any law as a means of living the CCL: However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.

A direct contrast to the previous verse and the quotation of Habakkuk 2:4

The Law (with definite article, thus M.L.) is not out from faith.

Paul will soon define the Mosaic Law and give its purpose. He begins that section at verse 17.

REMEMBER: The M.L. was like a mirror, telling man he was in need of cleansing

PRINCIPLE: The Law did not come out of faith and since faith is the system of the appropriation of God's grace, the Law cannot be a means of this appropriation.

BUT: The one doing them will live by them.

Same principle we saw in verse 10, if you live under the law and expect the law to bring blessing, you have to live by the whole law.

And since man cannot do this, he is under a curse, verse 10.

v 13 Here we have the great distinction in Grace vs. Legalism: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE

Redemption: Three Greek words:

  1. AGORAZO : To be purchased as a slave in the salve market but not removed. Emphasis on the price being paid and on the fact that Christ died for the entire human race.

II Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

  1. EXAGORAZO : Means to be purchased and removed from the slave market. Looks at being redeemed from one thing to another. From the Law to Christ. Galatians 3:13
  1. LUTROO : Means to be bought, taken out, and then set free. Emphasis is on the believers position in Christ as a free agent.

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

CURSE is the Greek : which means to utter a denouncement.

Contrasting EV + LOGOS or BLESSING (verse 9). Instead of being well spoken of by God because of faith, we are denounced because we tie ourselves to the Law.

BUT THE LAW BRINGS A CURSE

BUT JESUS CHRIST BECOMES A CURSE IN OUR PLACE

Then Paul goes back to the Old Testament to demonstrate that this was always the perfect plan of God. It was God's plan that Christ would come and be a curse on the Cross, always has been his plan.

Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (or giblet).

In Deuteronomy 21 the context is the death penalty that was given as a result of a sin worthy of death.

Our sins, which are defined by the Law of God, are punishable by death and that death is a curse.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And Jesus Christ, our Savior, became that curse when he died on the Cross.

v 13-14 With these verses, Paul begins to set up an extended metaphor:

This is a legal metaphor that will continue through to Galatians 4:7

Paul uses death, a will, an inheritance, an heir, and the one who guards an inheritance for an under age child to describe the Old Testament Law and the giving of Grace to the true heirs of the promise.

All this is based on Roman Law. Paul, being a Roman Citizen and, it is assumed, the heir of a wealthy Roman Estate, would have understood Roman inheritance laws.

The people of Galatia, who were under Roman rule and with some of the cities being Roman colonies, would also have understood Roman Laws of inheritance.

THE METAPHOR PRINCIPLE:

A simile looks at one thing as being similar to another. A metaphor looks at one thing being just like another.

Simile: We are all like sheep

Metaphor: We are the sheep of His pasture or The Lord is my shepherd

When a metaphor is used we can greatly enhance our understanding of what the passage is teaching when we better understand that which is referred to. Here, Paul uses Roman Law regarding wills and inheritance as an exact equivalent to the believer's inheritance.

Galatians 3:15The confirmation of a will

3:17The ratification of a prior will

3:20The mediator

3:24The guardian of an underage heir

3:29We are sons, we are heirs

4:5Adoption Roman style

4:7No more servants, now sons and heirs

v 13-14 These verses begin the metaphor, although Paul laid some ground work in the previous verses that we will be going back to.

At verse 13: Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 which looked at death due to sin. Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins (Looks at both physical death and spiritual death).

When death occurs there is the reading of the will and the determining of the estate. Both our law and Roman law indicated that the inheritance could not be determined until a person had died. Death then defined the inheritance. Prior to that it was just a promise with specifics unknown.

v 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

At verse 14: Paul gives the reading of the will. What is the estate determined by the death of Christ?

  1. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ
  1. That we might receive (at salvation) the promise of the Holy Spirit through the system of faith.

Every aspect of Grace to the child of God begins with the fact that we are indwelled with the Spirit at the moment of salvation.

Our primary responsibility in the C.W.L. is to keep our sins confessed which rivets our attention onto the Cross and results in the filling or control of the Holy Spirit.

v 15 Paul actually goes to the metaphor for an illustration: Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.

Paul is now on legal ground: Read verses 16, 22, 26, 29, and 4:7.

v 16 Paul goes back to the initial giving of the will and testament of God. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, And to seeds, as referring to many, but rather to one, And to your seed, that is, Christ.

He calls it a promise in verse 16 and a covenant in verse 17.

The divine inheritance promised to Abraham's seed (the Lord Jesus Christ) and then given to Christ's heirs, that is us, is the blessing upon Gentiles and the giving of the Holy Sprit mentioned in verse 14.

This verse emphasizes that Jesus Christ alone is the seed and the heir of God.

QUESTION: Does that mean God had to die for Jesus to receive His inheritance, NO

  1. Roman Law: The heir was an heir even while his father was alive. Different than American or English Law. You can be an heir apparent or an heir presumptive but est heres viventis, no one is an heir of the living.

Not so in Roman Law, you were an heir because of birth not death.

  1. With God the Father and God the Son both are God and share in the same attributes. Thus the coming of Christ to mankind as man constituted the possession of the inheritance.

God did not die but the Son fulfilled the condition of the promise, He took on a human nature and agreed to fulfill the plan of the Cross. Thus the seed, received the promise.

  1. THEREFORE: When Christ went to the Cross he possessed the total inheritance promised to Abraham's seed. And in His death he would will it to His heirs (see Gal 4:7).
  1. The rule of Intestate Succession: If no will the estate goes to the physical heirs automatically. But there is a will, anyone who lives by faith is blessed with believing Abraham (Galatians 3:9).

Without the faith connection, the estate of Christ would go to Israel only. But we are heirs.

v 17-20 The supposed codicil to the promise: The Mosaic Law:

Some would suppose that the Mosaic Law was given as a codicil to the last (first and only) will and testament made by God with Abraham's seed.

But Paul already stated in verse 15 that once a will was ratified it could not be set aside or a codicil added.

This is very different than American or English Law. We can change our wills at will. Roman Law did not allow this without a re-ratification of the will. Any codicil has to be mentioned in the main body of the will and re-witnessed.

THEREFORE: The giving of the Mosaic Law did not set aside or add to the promise given to Abraham.

PROMISE WAS THAT Gentiles would be blessed through their association by the faith connection with the seed of Abraham, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ.

v 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

A true statement according to Roman Law.

The 430 years mentioned refer to the period of time of Egyptian bondage. The Promise was given to Abraham, the first of the patriarchs . . . Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, then 430 years down to the time of Moses.

v 18 Paul then looks at the inheritance in light of the promise and the later giving of the law: For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

We saw the inheritance at verse 14: To summarize it can be said that the inheritance of God is the total sum of God's grace to mankind.

That is what Jesus Christ bequeathed to us on the Cross

He has given to us Grace:

  1. Grace at Salivation
  1. Grace in Logistical Support - Both material and spiritual, given to all believers
  1. Greater Grace of the abundant life of the believer
  1. Dying Grace
  1. Eternal Grace blessings and rewards

That is the inheritance defined by the Cross, promised to Abraham, and given to all the heirs of God

At verse 18 we also see another aspect Roman Law regarding wills and inheritance.

You could not require an heir to do anything out of the ordinary as a stipulation for receiving the inheritance.

If the inheritance came out of the Law or was amended by the Law which required the stipulation of obedience to the Law, the will would have been void. A will must, by Roman Law, be made to the heirs freely and by promise.

Before we continue with verse 19 which defines the purpose of the Mosaic Law, let's look at some more principle of Roman Law:

  1. When a Roman will was written and ratified it was more than a document, it included a ceremony of imagined sale.

In Genesis 15:4-6 when God promised Abraham an heir who was the Lord Jesus Christ, this was followed by a ceremony of sacrifice that looked ahead to blessing on all nations in relationship to the heir.

God knew then that Paul would use a Roman legal metaphor in Galatians 3 to teach the inheritance of God to us.

  1. The Mosaic Law was not a codicil to the will. According to Roman Law any change required a complete re-ratification of the will.

Compare Galatians 3:17-18 Cannot disannul.

  1. The promise of inheritance to the heir of Abraham cannot at any time be made void (Covenant Theology). If it was this would leave Jesus Christ without a last will and testament at the Cross.

Law of intestate session states that then the inheritance would go to the physical heirs, Israel after the flesh. Excluding the Gentiles.

  1. Christ was THE HEIR (Galatians 3:16) but at the Cross He died for the human race. This made everyone who is in Christ (Current positional truth).

Galatians 3:22, 29, and Galatians 4:7

  1. But the death of the Cross did not keep Jesus our Lord, he was risen from the grave and now lives.

Now in English law you cannot be an heir of the living. Est heres viventis, no one is an heir of the living.