2 Corinthians 3

16 In the same way, God made a covenant with Abraham. God made sure promises to Abraham and to his seed. The promise was that Abraham’s descendants would receive salvation and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the seed (offspring) means Christ and all those who place their faith in Him. Christ is the firstborn, the first fruit of a new spiritual family or nation (see Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 15:20). The promises were not made to all the seeds—that is, to all the natural offspring of Abraham—but only to Christ, and through Christ to those who believe. God said to Abraham: “… through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). In Christ, therefore, the promise God gave to Abraham is fulfilled.

17 Here Paul makes his main point. God gave the promise of salvation to Abraham 430 years before the law was introduced (Exodus 12:40). How, then, can those Jewish teachers in Galatia say that the law is necessary for salvation? The promise of salvation in no way depends on the law; nor does the coming of the law in any way affect the promise.

18 If the law were necessary to obtain the inheritance (that is, salvation), then the promise God gave Abraham would become void. If the law were necessary for salvation, then the covenant God made with Abraham would be altered—in fact, canceled. But that cannot be done (verse 15). God’s promise can never be canceled. Paul is saying that God gave Abraham and his spiritual descendants an inheritance (salvation) not through the law that would come afterward, but through a promise which arose out of God’s grace and is received through faith (see Romans 4:14,16). Salvation is given to man by grace alone. We cannot earn it by obeying the Jewish law, or any other law (see Romans 11:6).

19 Therefore, it is natural to ask, what was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions. The law was given by God to manifest sin, to bring sin into the light (see Romans 5:20 and comment). Before the law was given, there were sins that man did not recognize, such as covetousness. God gave the law so that all men could see their own sin, so that each man could understand that he was a sinner (see Romans 3:20; 7:7).

The law clearly demonstrated that man cannot save himself nor make himself righteous. The law showed that all men are in need of a Savior, that is, Christ. In other words, the law pointed to Jesus Christ, and the law remained in effect until the Seed (Christ) to whom the promise referred had come. After Christ came, the law was no longer necessary.

Nevertheless, the law continues to serve an important function: It shows us what sin is. Jesus Himself based much of His teaching on the Jewish law (see Matthew 5:2122,27-28,38-39,43-44).

The law is inferior to the promise. The law was temporary. It remained in effect only until Christ came. Now Christ has saved us from the condemnation, the curse, of the law.

The law was not given directly from God to man, as the promise was. The law was given through a mediator—that is, Moses¹⁸—together with the help of angels (Exodus 31:18; Acts 7:53). Therefore, since the promise came directly from God (instead of through a man), it is superior to the law, which came through Moses and the angels.

20 A mediator represents not one party but two. By taking the side of both parties, the mediator helps bring them to an agreement. The giving of the law to the Jews through Moses, the mediator, was like an agreement between two parties. God gave the law: man had to obey it. God did something, and man had to do something in return—that is, obey. In order for a covenant to be made, both parties must take part. Thus, when the old covenant between man and God was made, a mediator (Moses) was needed.

But a promise is different from a covenant or agreement. To make a promise, only one party is necessary—that is, God. When God makes a promise, He acts alone. He gives the promise freely. All that we men and women have to do is to accept the promise. Without any human or angelic demiator,¹⁹ God comes to us and offers the promise of salvation and the Holy Spirit. And through the Holy Spirit, that is, through Christ dwelling within us, we receive the power to obey the law. With the promise comes power.

21 The law does not oppose the promise. The difference between the law and the promise is only this: The law has no power; the promise has. The law cannot impart life, but the promise can. To impart life means to make alive—to make spiritually alive, spiritually powerful. If the law could have given us spiritual life and power, then we could have become righteous through the law. But the law could not (see Romans 8:3). And because the law could not impart life and power, no one could become righteous by observing it. Only by grace through faith in Christ can one be made righteous in God’s sight and obtain salvation (Ephesians 2:8).

22 But the Scripture (God) declares that the whole world (all mankind) pis a risoner of sin. In other words, because men rebelled against God, He placed them under bondage to sin (Romans 3:910; 11:32). Because men sinned against God, He condemned them through the law. But now God has given man a way of escape, a promise of salvation, which promise we receive through faith in Christ.

Therefore, how can the Jewish teachers at Galatia say that following the law is a means of salvation? The law can only condemn (Romans 7:10). Their teaching is the opposite of the truth.

23 Paul here repeats the thought of verse 22. Before this faith (the Gospel of Christ) came, we were held prisoners by the law. In verse 22, Paul said that we were prisoners of sin. The meaning is the same: to be held prisoner by the law and to be a prisoner of sin. The meaning is the same: to be held prisoner by the law and to be a prisoner of sin is the same thing. Sin and the law work together to condemn us. Sin gets its power from the law (see Romans 7:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:56).

24 Because of man’s sin, it was necessary that man remain under someone’s control. In Paul’s day, wealthy families hired special tutors or custodians to look after their children. The children were placed under the authority of the custodian. In the same way, the law was put in charge of us; it was our “custodian.” Just as a custodian brings up the students under his charge, so the law became our custodian to lead us to Christ.

25 Now that the Gospel has come and we have believed in Christ, we no longer need to be under the supervision of the law—that is, we no longer need a custodian.

26 In Paul’s time, a son did not receive his full rights and authority as a son until he reached the proper age. Before that, he remained under the authority of the custodian (Galatians 4:1-2). Those who have placed faith in Christ are like sons who have come of age; they are now fully sons. They are sons of God (John 1:12-13; Galatians 4:7). Paul says to the Galatian Christians: You are all sons of God—whether you are Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female (see verse 28).

27 When we come of age and become full sons, we take off our old student uniform and put on new clothes. In the same way, when we believe in Christ we take off our old clothes and put on Christ—that is, we put on His righteousness. When we are baptized into Christ, we become clothed … with Christ. This is the real meaning of BAPTISM. When we are baptized in Christ’s name, we put off our old sinful life, our old self, and put on a new self, new spiritual life in Christ (see Romans 6:3-4,6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24 and comments).

28 Who, then, can come to Christ in faith? All can come. Spiritually there is no difference between people. All are equally entitled to be sons and daughters of God through faith. And when we are baptized in Christ, when we have been clothed … with Christ, we become one family, even one body (see 1 Corinthians 12:13 and comment). We all—Jew and Greek (Gentile), slave and free, male and female—become one in Christ Jesus.

Think of the great difference there was in Paul’s time between Jew and Gentile, master and slave, men and women. The Jews despised the Gentiles; slaves were crushed under the power of their masters; men looked down on women, regarding them as inferior. Yet in Christ there was no difference between any of them. In Christ, all became one (see Colossians 3:9-11).

Among Christians there can be no difference between high caste and low caste, between rich and poor, between foreigner and national. As we each look about us within our own churches, do we see any of these differences? Are those of low caste treated with the same respect as those of high caste? Are women treated as respectfully as men? Are there differences made between foreigners and nationals? Do the nationals say: “This is our church; the foreigner is only a visitor”? But such differences should not be. The church does not belong to one group or another; it belongs to Christ! The church is Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23). In each local church we are all one in Christ. Where is the difference between high caste and low caste, between foreigner and national? Our citizenship is in heaven, not in this world. In heaven there are no castes, and no foreigners. If we allow any of these differences to remain in our churches, we are guilty of dividing Christ’s body into pieces.

29 Christ is the true seed (offspring) of Abraham (verse 16). Therefore, when we put faith in Christ we also become true seed of Abraham (verse 7). We become heirs-co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). We inherit the promise—the promise of salvation, of eternal life.