Galatians 3:15-18 – What the Law Isn’t For
Paul points out that Abraham was saved by faith 430 years before the law was given. But maybe the false teachers will grant him that and say that it’s just everyone from Moses onwards who must be saved by keeping the law. That God added the law on to his promise to Abraham at a later date. And so to this Paul responds by saying that even human beings don’t operate that way! As humans, we know that we can’t – or at least we shouldn’t – go back on a deal. But the false teachers in Galatia are basically implying that God did.
V16 talks about God’s promise to Abraham. For example, back in Genesis 22 God had said: ‘I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in you and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed’. Paul tells us here that because God made the promise about Abraham’s ‘offspring’ and not his ‘offsprings’ that this was a promise about Jesus Christ. Yes, Abraham’s physical descendants are included. But ultimately this was a promise about the coming of Jesus, and the nations of the earth being blessed in him. So for Abraham to trust God’s promise was to trust in the promised Messiah. Abraham was saved by faith in Christ. He wasn’t saved by law-keeping.
If God’s covenant with Moses was totally separate from his covenant with Abraham, then God could have added in whatever new conditions he wanted. But instead, because it’s the same covenant, he can’t. The fact that God’s covenant with Abraham and his covenant with Moses were one and the same is obvious if you think about it. Where was Moses leading the people out of Egypt towards? The Promised Land. And who was the promise of the land first made to? Abraham. There are only two options in v18. Either Abraham and Moses believed God’s promises about the inheritance – or they were trying to get the inheritance by their own obedience. It’s either one or the other. If we skip down to v29, we see that those who are in Christ are Abraham’s offspring. We’re heirs of the same promise. And this part of God’s Word tells us that God’s promise hasn’t changed. There is one faith, one salvation, and one way of obtaining that salvation from Abraham right through to us.
Questions
- How was Abraham saved?
- How was Moses saved?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks that we can be an heir of God’s promises.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.