PROMISE OR LAW?
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Opening Prayer
I come to you today, Lord Jesus, thanking you for your unfailing love and constant presence with me. Thank you for the forgiveness you offer me and for the purposes you have for me as I follow you.
Read GALATIANS 3:15–22
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[a] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
Footnotes
- Galatians 3:16 Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What is the difference between following God’s law and receiving his promise of life in Jesus?Living with their Jewish heritage, it must have been hard for these Galatian believers to understand what Paul meant. Paul explains, recalling three figures that mark our faith story across millennia: Abraham, Moses (‘a mediator’), and Jesus Christ. These three bring different perspectives to understanding our relationship with God, and of our faith.
Our salvation story is marked by a promise to Abraham (the covenant) (v .16). God is honoring that promise through his Seed, Jesus: ‘all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’ (Genesis 12:3). As we live by faith, we discover his presence with us.
However, centuries after Abraham received that prophetic promise, God’s people were enslaved in Egypt. God rescues them through another giant of faith. Moses becomes the ‘mediator’ between God and man, receiving the Law, instigating the regime of ‘you shall …’ and ‘you shall not …’ The Law, however, does not obliterate the promise made to Abraham; rather it is given to help a wayward people live in God’s ways. The giving of the covenant to Abraham and the Law to Moses both point us to the promise fulfilled in Jesus, our righteousness (v. 21). We have life through faith in him (v. 22).
Apply
In what ways does God’s law show you the need for his promise in Christ?
Closing prayer
Thank you, Lord, for your promises, your holy law, and your gift of life through Jesus. Help me to honor you as I live by faith in you.
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