“Galatians 3:15-18”

Sunday, July 15, 2018

“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. 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. 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. 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.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Quoting Mike Willis in his commentary on Paul’s letter to the Galatians for today:

“Paul continues his defense of the gospel of justification by grace through faith by demonstrating that the promise of justification through the seed of Abraham was not altered by the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai 430 years after the covenant was made. The promise was made independently of the Law; it was a covenant between God and Abraham. The nature of even a human agreement is such that neither party has the liberty of imposing conditions upon the other after the covenant is made. By demonstrating that the promise was made prior to the Law and that justification is based on the covenant given to Abraham, Paul shows that our justification is not based on perfect obedience to the Law of Moses.

“The covenant with Abraham was centered around the Messianic promise. Anyone familiar with the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament or the writings of the Jews of the first century is aware that God’s covenant with Abraham centered around the promise of a Messiah. That God’s covenant with Abraham included the salvation of men through the Messiah was stated by Paul in v. 8. When God spoke to Abraham saying, ‘In thee shall all nations be blessed,’ he foretold, ‘that God would justify the heathen by faith’ (v. 8). Hence, the covenant that God made with Abraham in the beginning was clearly aimed at the salvation of the world through a descendant of Abraham. The covenant that God made with Abraham was not fulfilled at the death of Abraham, for it included his seed as well; the seed to which God referred was Christ.

“In many of the passages of Genesis in which a reference is made to Abraham’s seed in giving the covenant, the primary interest of the passage was the land promise (that the land of Canaan would be given to Abraham’s descendants). However, Israel understood the covenant that God made with Abraham to include more than the making of a great nation from his descendants and the giving of the land of Canaan to his posterity. Israel did not conclude that God’s covenant with Abraham was completely fulfilled when Joshua led them to conquer the land of Canaan. The covenant that God made with Abraham was fulfilled in the sending of the Christ to die for the sins of mankind in order that all nations of the world might receive salvation through his blood (‘in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed’).”

Galatians by Mike Willis, Truth Commentaries, © Guardian of Truth Foundation 1994, pages 143-144

Please read Galatians 3:19-22 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

-Louie Taylor

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