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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Galatians III].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G A L A T I A N S.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The apostle in this chapter,
I. Reproves the Galatians for their folly, in suffering themselves to
be drawn away from the faith of the gospel, and endeavours, from
several considerations, to impress them with a sense of it.
II. He proves the doctrine which he had reproved them for departing
from--that of justification by faith without the works of the law,
1. From the example of Abraham's justification.
2. From the nature and tenour of the law.
3. From the express testimony of the Old Testament; and,
4. From the stability of the covenant of God with Abraham. Lest
any should hereupon say, "Wherefore then serveth the law?" he answers,
(1.) It was added because of transgressions.
(2.) It was given to convince the world of the necessity of a Saviour.
(3.) It was designed as a schoolmaster, to bring us to Christ. And then
he concludes the chapter by acquainting us with the privilege of
Christians under the gospel state.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Ga3_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Justification by Faith.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A.&nbsp;D.</FONT>&nbsp;56.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should
not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been
evidently set forth, crucified among you?
&nbsp; 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
&nbsp; 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now
made perfect by the flesh?
&nbsp; 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if <I>it be</I> yet in
vain.
&nbsp; 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh
miracles among you, <I>doeth he it</I> by the works of the law, or by
the hearing of faith?
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The apostle is here dealing with those who, having embraced the faith
of Christ, still continued to seek for justification by the works of
the law; that is, who depended upon their own obedience to the moral
precepts as their righteousness before God, and, wherein that was
defective, had recourse to the legal sacrifices and purifications to
make it up. These he first sharply reproves, and then endeavours, by
the evidence of truth, to convince them. This is the right method, when
we reprove any for a fault or an error, to convince them that it is an
error, that it is a fault.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
He reproves them, and the reproof is very close and warm: he calls them
<I>foolish Galatians,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
Though as Christians they were Wisdom's children, yet as corrupt
Christians they were foolish children. Yea, he asks, <I>Who hath
bewitched you?</I> whereby he represents them as enchanted by the arts
and snares of their seducing teachers, and so far deluded as to act
very unlike themselves. That wherein their folly and infatuation
appeared was that <I>they did not obey the truth;</I> that is, they did
not adhere to the gospel way of justification, wherein they had been
taught, and which they had professed to embrace. Note, It is not enough
to know the truth, and to say we believe it, but we must obey it too;
we must heartily submit to it, and stedfastly abide by it. Note, also,
Those are spiritually bewitched who, when the truth as it is in Jesus
is plainly set before them, will not thus obey it. Several things
proved and aggravated the folly of these Christians.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. <I>Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth as crucified among
them;</I> that is, they had had the doctrine of the cross preached to
them, and the sacrament of the Lord's supper administered among them,
in both which Christ crucified had been set before them. Now, it was
the greatest madness that could be for those who had acquaintance with
such sacred mysteries, and admittance to such great solemnities, not to
obey the truth which was thus published to them, and signed and sealed
in that ordinance. Note, The consideration of the honours and
privileges we have been admitted to as Christians should shame us out
of the folly of apostasy and backsliding.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. He appeals to the experiences they had had of the working of the
Spirit upon their souls
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>);
he puts them in mind that, upon their becoming Christians, <I>they had
received the Spirit,</I> that many of them at least had been made
partakers not only of the sanctifying influences, but of the miraculous
gifts, of the Holy Spirit, which were eminent proofs of the truth of
the Christian religion and the several doctrines of it, and especially
of this, that justification is by Christ only, and not by the works of
the law, which was one of the peculiar and fundamental principles of
it. To convince them of the folly of their departing from this
doctrine, he desires to know how they came by these gifts and graces:
Was it <I>by the works of the law,</I> that is, the preaching of the
necessity of these in order to justification? This they could not say,
for that doctrine had not then been preached to them, nor had they, as
Gentiles, any pretence to justification in that way. Or was it by the
<I>hearing of faith,</I> that is, the preaching of the doctrine of
faith in Christ as the only way of justification? This, if they would
say the truth, they were obliged to own, and therefore must be very
unreasonable if they should reject a doctrine of the good effects of
which they had had such experience. Note,
(1.) It is usually by the ministry of the gospel that the Spirit is
communicated to persons. And,
(2.) Those are very unwise who suffer themselves to be turned away from
the ministry and doctrine which have been blessed to their spiritual
advantage.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. He calls upon them to consider their past and present conduct, and
thence to judge whether they were not acting very weakly and
unreasonably
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>):
he tells them that <I>they had begun in the Spirit,</I> but now were
seeking <I>to be made perfect by the flesh;</I> they had embraced the
doctrine of the gospel, by means of which they had received the Spirit,
and wherein only the true way of justification is revealed. And thus
they had begun well; but now they were turning to the law, and expected
to be advanced to higher degrees of perfection by adding the observance
of it to faith in Christ, in order to their justification, which could
end in nothing but their shame and disappointment: for this, instead of
being an improvement upon the gospel, was really a perversion of it;
and, while they sought to be justified in this way, they were so far
from being more perfect Christians that they were more in danger of
becoming no Christians at all; hereby they were pulling down with one
hand what they had built with the other, and undoing what they had
hitherto done in Christianity. Yea, he further puts them in mind that
they had not only embraced the Christian doctrine, but suffered for it
too; and therefore their folly would be the more aggravated, if now
they should desert it: for in this case all that they had suffered
would be in vain--it would appear that they had been foolish in
suffering for what they now deserted, and their sufferings would be
altogether in vain, and of no advantage to them. Note,
(1.) It is the folly of apostates that they lose the benefit of all
they have done in religion, or suffered for it. And,
(2.) It is very sad for any to live in an age of services and
sufferings, of sabbaths, sermons, and sacraments, in vain; in this case
former righteousness shall not be mentioned.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
4. He puts them in mind that they had had ministers among them (and
particularly himself) who came with a divine seal and commission; for
they had <I>ministered the Spirit to them, and wrought miracles among
them:</I> and he appeals to them whether they did it <I>by the works of
the law or by the hearing of faith,</I> whether the doctrine that was
preached by them, and confirmed by the miraculous gifts and operations
of the Spirit, was that of justification by the works of the law or by
the faith of Christ; they very well knew that it was not the former,
but the latter; and therefore must needs be inexcusable in forsaking a
doctrine which had been so signally owned and attested, and exchanging
it for one that had received no such attestations.</P>
<A NAME="Ga3_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Justification by Faith.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A.&nbsp;D.</FONT>&nbsp;56.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.
&nbsp; 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are
the children of Abraham.
&nbsp; 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the
heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
<I>saying,</I> In thee shall all nations be blessed.
&nbsp; 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham.
&nbsp; 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the
curse: for it is written, Cursed <I>is</I> every one that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them.
&nbsp; 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God,
<I>it is</I> evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
&nbsp; 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them
shall live in them.
&nbsp; 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed <I>is</I> every one
that hangeth on a tree:
&nbsp; 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith.
&nbsp; 15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though <I>it be</I>
but a man's covenant, yet <I>if it be</I> confirmed, no man
disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
&nbsp; 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith
not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
which is Christ.
&nbsp; 17 And this I say, <I>that</I> the covenant, that was confirmed
before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and
thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the
promise of none effect.
&nbsp; 18 For if the inheritance <I>be</I> of the law, <I>it is</I> no more of
promise: but God gave <I>it</I> to Abraham by promise.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The apostle having reproved the Galatians for not obeying the truth,
and endeavoured to impress them with a sense of their folly herein, in
these verses he largely proves the doctrine which he had reproved them
for rejecting, namely, that of justification by faith without the works
of the law. This he does several ways.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. From the example of Abraham's justification. This argument the
apostle uses,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:1-25">Rom. iv</A>.
<I>Abraham believed God, and that was accounted to him for
righteousness</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>);
that is, his faith fastened upon the word and promise of God, and upon
his believing he was owned and accepted of God as a righteous man: as
on this account he is represented as the father of the faithful, so the
apostle would have us to know <I>that those who are of faith are the
children of Abraham</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
not according to the flesh, but according to the promise; and,
consequently, that they are justified in the same way that he was.
Abraham was justified by faith, and so are they. To confirm this, the
apostle acquaints us that the promise made to Abraham
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:3">Gen. xii. 3</A>),
<I>In thee shall all nations be blessed,</I> had a reference hereunto,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
The scripture is said to <I>foresee,</I> because he that indited the
scripture did foresee, that God would justify the heathen world in the
way of faith; and therefore in Abraham, that is, in the seed of
Abraham, which is Christ, not the Jews only, but the Gentiles also,
should be blessed; not only blessed in the seed of Abraham, but blessed
as Abraham was, being justified as he was. This the apostle calls
<I>preaching the gospel to Abraham;</I> and thence infers
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>)
that <I>those who are of faith,</I> that is, true believers, of what
nation soever they are, <I>are blessed with faithful Abraham.</I> They
are blessed with Abraham the father of the faithful, by the promise
made to him, and therefore by faith as he was. It was through faith in
the promise of God that he was blessed, and it is only in the same way
that others obtain this privilege.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. He shows that we cannot be justified but by faith fastening on the
gospel, because the law condemns us. If we put ourselves upon trial in
that court, and stand to the sentence of it, we are certainly cast, and
lost, and undone; <I>for as many as are of the works of the law are
under the curse,</I> as many as depend upon the merit of their own
works as their righteousness, as plead not guilty, and insist upon
their own justification, the cause will certainly go against them;
<I>for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all
things which are written in the book of the law, to do them,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:10,De+27:26"><I>v.</I> 10,
and Deut. xxvii. 26</A>.
The condition of life, by the law, is perfect, personal, and perpetual,
obedience; the language of it is, <I>Do this and live;</I> or, as
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>,
<I>The man that doeth them shall live in them:</I> and for every
failure herein the law denounces a curse. Unless our obedience be
universal, continuing in all things that are written in the book of the
law, and unless it be perpetual too (if in any instance at any time we
fail and come short), we fall under the curse of the law. The curse is
wrath revealed, and ruin threatened: it is a separation unto all evil,
and this is in full force, power, and virtue, against all sinners, and
therefore against all men; for all have sinned and become guilty before
God: and if, as transgressors of the law, we are under the curse of it,
it must be a vain thing to look for justification by it. But, though
this is not to be expected from the law, yet the apostle afterwards
acquaints us that there is a way open to our escaping this curse, and
regaining the favour of God, namely, through faith in Christ, who (as
he says,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>)
<I>hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,</I> &c. A strange
method it was which Christ took to redeem us from the curse of the law;
it was <I>by his being himself made a curse for us.</I> Being made sin
for us, he was made a curse for us; not separated from God, but laid
for the present under that infamous token of the divine displeasure
upon which the law of Moses had put a particular brand,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+21:22">Deut. xxi. 22</A>.
The design of this was <I>that the blessing of Abraham might come on
the Gentiles through Jesus Christ</I>--that all who believed on Christ,
whether Jews or Gentiles, might become heirs of Abraham's blessing, and
particularly of that great promise of the Spirit, which was peculiarly
reserved for the times of the gospel. Hence it appeared that it was not
by putting themselves under the law, but by faith in Christ, that they
become the people of God and heirs of the promise. Here note,
1. The misery which as sinners we are sunk into--we are under the
curse and condemnation of the law.
2. The love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ towards us--he has
submitted to be made a curse for us, that he might redeem us from the
curse of the law.
3. The happy prospect which we now have through him, not only of
escaping the curse, but of inheriting the blessing. And,
4. That it is only through faith in him that we can hope to obtain
this favour.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. To prove that justification is by faith, and not by the works of
the law, the apostle alleges the express testimony of the Old
Testament,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
The place referred to is
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:4">Habak. ii. 4</A>,
where it is said, <I>The just shall live by faith;</I> it is again
quoted,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:17,Heb+10:38">Rom. i. 17, and Heb. x. 38</A>.
The design of it is to show that those only are just or righteous who
do truly live, who are freed from death and wrath, and restored into a
state of life in the favour of God; and that it is only through faith
that persons become righteous, and as such obtain this life and
happiness--that they are accepted of God, and enabled to live to him
now, and are entitled to an eternal life in the enjoyment of him
hereafter. Hence the apostle says, <I>It is evident that no man is
justified by the law in the sight of God.</I> Whatever he may be in the
account of others, yet he is not so in the sight of God; for <I>the law
is not of faith</I>--that says nothing concerning faith in the business
of justification, nor does it give life to those who believe; but the
language of it is, <I>The man that doeth them shall live in them,</I>
as
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+18:5">Lev. xviii. 5</A>.
It requires perfect obedience as the condition of life, and therefore
now can by no means be the rule of our justification. This argument of
the apostle's may give us occasion to remark that justification by
faith is no new doctrine, but what was established and taught in the
church of God long before the times of the gospel. Yea, it is the only
way wherein any sinners ever were, or can be, justified.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
IV. To this purpose the apostle urges the stability of the covenant
which God made with Abraham, which was not vacated nor disannulled by
the giving of the law to Moses,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>,
&c. Faith had the precedence of the law, for Abraham was justified by
faith. It was a promise that he built upon, and promises are the proper
objects of faith. God entered into covenant with Abraham
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
and this covenant was firm and steady; even men's covenants are so, and
therefore much more his. When a deed is executed, or articles of
agreement are sealed, both parties are bound, and it is too late then
to settle things otherwise; and therefore it is not to be supposed that
by the subsequent law the covenant of God should be vacated. The
original word <B><I>diatheke</I></B> signifies both a covenant and a
testament. Now the promise made to Abraham was rather a testament than
a covenant. When a testament has become of force by the death of the
testator, it is not capable of being altered; and therefore, the
promise that was given to Abraham being of the nature of a testament,
it remains firm and unalterable. But, if it should be said that a grant
or testament may be defeated for want of persons to claim the benefit
of it
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
he shows that there is no danger of that in this case. Abraham is
dead, and the prophets are dead, but the covenant is made with Abraham
and his seed. And he gives us a very surprising exposition of this. We
should have thought it had been meant only of the people of the Jews.
"Nay," says the apostle, "it is in the singular number, and points at a
single person--<I>that seed is Christ,</I>" So that the covenant is
still in force; for Christ abideth for ever in his person, and in his
spiritual seed, who are his by faith. And if it be objected that the
law which was given by Moses did disannul this covenant, because that
insisted so much upon works, and there was so little in it of faith or
of the promised Messiah, he answers that the subsequent law could not
disannul the previous covenant or promise
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
<I>If the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise; but,</I>
says he, <I>God gave it to Abraham by promise,</I> and therefore it
would be inconsistent with his holiness, wisdom, and faithfulness, by
any subsequent act to set aside the promise, and so alter the way of
justification which he had thus established. If the inheritance was
given to Abraham by promise, and thereby entailed upon his spiritual
seed, we may be sure that God would not retract that promise; for he is
not a man that he should repent.</P>
<A NAME="Ga3_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_26"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_27"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_28"> </A>
<A NAME="Ga3_29"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Design of the Law; The True Children of Abraham.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A.&nbsp;D.</FONT>&nbsp;56.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 Wherefore then <I>serveth</I> the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was
made; <I>and it was</I> ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
&nbsp; 20 Now a mediator is not <I>a mediator</I> of one, but God is one.
&nbsp; 21 <I>Is</I> the law then against the promises of God? God forbid:
for if there had been a law given which could have given life,
verily righteousness should have been by the law.
&nbsp; 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the
promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that
believe.
&nbsp; 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up
unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
&nbsp; 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster <I>to bring us</I> unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
&nbsp; 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster.
&nbsp; 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
&nbsp; 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ.
&nbsp; 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus.
&nbsp; 29 And if ye <I>be</I> Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The apostle having just before been speaking of the promise made to
Abraham, and representing that as the rule of our justification, and
not the law, lest they should think he did too much derogate from the
law, and render it altogether useless, he thence takes occasion to
discourse of the design and tendency of it, and to acquaint us for what
purposes it was given. It might be asked, "If that promise be
sufficient for salvation, wherefore then serveth the law? Or, Why did
God give the law by Moses?" To this he answers,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. The law <I>was added because of transgressions,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
It was not designed to disannul the promise, and to establish a
different way of justification from that which was settled by the
promise; but <I>it was added</I> to it, annexed on purpose to be
subservient to it, and it was so <I>because of transgressions.</I> The
Israelites, though they were chosen to be God's peculiar people, were
sinners as well as others, and therefore the law was given to convince
them of their sin, and of their obnoxiousness to the divine displeasure
on the account of it; <I>for by the law is the knowledge of sin</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:20">Rom. iii. 20</A>),
and <I>the law entered that sin might abound,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+5:20">Rom. v. 20</A>.
And it was also intended to restrain them from the commission of sin,
to put an awe upon their minds, and be a curb upon their lusts, that
they should not run into that excess of riot to which they were
naturally inclined; and yet at the same time it was designed to direct
them to the true and only way whereby sin was to be expiated, and
wherein they might obtain the pardon of it; namely, through the death
and sacrifice of Christ, which was the special use for which the law of
sacrifices and purifications was given.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The apostle adds that the law was given for this purpose <I>till the
seed should come to whom the promise was made;</I> that is, either till
Christ should come (the principle seed referred to in the promise, as
he had before shown), or till the gospel dispensation should take
place, when Jews and Gentiles, without distinction, should, upon
believing, become the seed of Abraham. The law was added because of
transgressions, till this fulness of time, or this complete
dispensation, should come. But when the seed came, and a fuller
discovery of divine grace in the promise was made, then the law, as
given by Moses, was to cease; that covenant, being found faulty, was to
give place to another, and a better,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+8:7,8">Heb. viii. 7, 8</A>.
And though the law, considered as the law of nature, is always in
force, and still continues to be of use to convince men of sin and to
restrain them from it, yet we are now no longer under the bondage and
terror of that legal covenant. The law then was not intended to
discover another way of justification, different from that revealed by
the promise, but only to lead men to see their need of the promise, by
showing them the sinfulness of sin, and to point them to Christ,
through whom alone they could be pardoned and justified.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
As a further proof that the law was not designed to vacate the promise,
the apostle adds, <I>It was ordained by angels in the hand of a
mediator.</I> It was given to different persons, and in a different
manner from the promise, and therefore for different purposes. The
promise was made to Abraham, and all his spiritual seed, including
believers of all nations, even of the Gentiles as well as the Jews; but
the law was given to the Israelites as a peculiar people, and separated
from the rest of the world. And, whereas the promise was given
immediately by God himself, the law was given <I>by the ministry of
angels, and the hand of a mediator.</I> Hence it appeared that the law
could not be designed to set aside the promise; for
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
<I>A mediator is not a mediator of one,</I> of one party only; <I>but
God is one,</I> but one party in the promise or covenant made with
Abraham: and therefore it is not to be supposed that by a transaction
which passed only between him and the nation of the Jews he should make
void a promise which he had long before made to Abraham and all his
spiritual seed, whether Jews or Gentiles. This would not have been
consistent with his wisdom, nor with his truth and faithfulness. Moses
was only a mediator between God and the spiritual seed of Abraham; and
therefore the law that was given by him could not affect the promise
made to them, much less be subversive of it.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The law was given to convince men of the necessity of a Saviour.
The apostle asks
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
as what some might be willing to object, "<I>Is the law then against
the promises of God?</I> Do they really clash and interfere with each
other? Or do you not set the covenant with Abraham, and the law of
Moses, at variance with one another?" To this he answers, <I>God
forbid;</I> he was far from entertaining such a thought, nor could it
be inferred from what he had said. The law is by no means inconsistent
with the promise, but subservient to it, as the design of it is to
discover men's transgressions, and to show them the need they have of a
better righteousness than that of the law. That consequence would much
rather follow from their doctrine than from his; <I>for, if there had
been a law given that could have given life, verily righteousness would
have been by the law,</I> and in that case the promise would have been
superseded and rendered useless. But that in our present state could
not be, <I>for the scripture hath concluded all under sin</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
or declared that all, both Jew and Gentile, are in a state of guilt,
and therefore unable to attain to righteousness and justification by
the works of the law. The law discovered their wounds, but could not
afford them a remedy: it showed that they were guilty, because it
appointed sacrifices and purifications, which were manifestly
insufficient to take away sin: and therefore the great design of it was
<I>that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those
that believe,</I> that being convinced of their guilt, and the
insufficiency of the law to effect a righteousness for them, they might
be persuaded to believe on Christ, and so obtain the benefit of the
promise.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. The law was designed for <I>a schoolmaster, to bring men to
Christ,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
In the
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:23">foregoing verse</A>,
the apostle acquaints us with the state of the Jews under the Mosaic
economy, that <I>before faith came,</I> or before Christ appeared and
the doctrine of justification by faith in him was more fully
discovered, <I>they were kept under the law,</I> obliged, under severe
penalties, to a strict observance of the various precepts of it; and at
that time they were shut up, held under the terror and discipline of
it, as prisoners in a state of confinement: the design of this was that
hereby they might be disposed more readily to embrace <I>the faith
which should afterwards be revealed,</I> or be persuaded to accept
Christ when he came into the world, and to fall in with that better
dispensation he was to introduce, whereby they were to be freed from
bondage and servitude, and brought into a state of greater light and
liberty. Now, in that state, he tells them, <I>the law was their
schoolmaster, to bring them to Christ, that they might be justified by
faith.</I> As it declared the mind and will of God concerning them, and
at the same time denounced a curse against them for every failure in
their duty, so it was proper to convince them of their lost and undone
condition in themselves, and to let them see the weakness and
insufficiency of their own righteousness to recommend them to God. And
as it obliged them to a variety of sacrifices, &c., which, though they
could not of themselves take away sin, were typical of Christ, and of
the great sacrifice which he was to offer up for the expiation of it,
so it directed them (though in a more dark and obscure manner) to him
as their only relief and refuge. And thus it was their schoolmaster, to
instruct and govern them in their state of minority, or, as the word
<B><I>paidagogos</I></B> most properly signifies, their <I>servant,</I>
to lead and conduct them to Christ (as children were wont to be led to
school by those servants who had the care of them); that they might be
more fully instructed by him as their schoolmaster, in the true way of
justification and salvation, which is only by faith in him, and of
which he was appointed to give the fullest and clearest discoveries.
But lest it should be said, If the law was of this use and service
under the Jewish, why may it not continue to be so under the Christian
state too, the apostle adds
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>)
that <I>after faith has come,</I> and the gospel dispensation has taken
place, under which Christ, and the way of pardon and life through faith
in him, are set in the clearest light, <I>we are no longer under a
schoolmaster</I>--we have no such need of the law to direct us to him
as there was then. Thus the apostle acquaints us for what uses and
purposes the law served; and, from what he says concerning this matter,
we may observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The goodness of God to his people of old, in giving the law to them;
for though, in comparison of the gospel state, it was a dispensation of
darkness and terror, yet it furnished them with sufficient means and
helps both to direct them in their duty to God and to encourage their
hopes in him.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. The great fault and folly of the Jews, in mistaking the design of
the law, and abusing it to a very different purpose from that which God
intended in the giving of it; for they expected to be justified by the
works of it, whereas it was never designed to be the rule of their
justification, but only a means of convincing them of their guilt and
of their need of a Saviour, and of directing them to Christ, and faith
in him, as the only way of obtaining this privilege. See
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:31,32,10:3,4">Rom. ix. 31, 32; x. 3, 4</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. The great advantage of the gospel state above the legal, under which
we not only enjoy a clearer discovery of divine grace and mercy than
was afforded to the Jews of old, but are also freed from the state of
bondage and terror under which they were held. We are not now treated
as children in a state of minority, but as sons grown up to a full age,
who are admitted to greater freedoms, and instated in larger
privileges, than they were. This the apostle enlarges upon in the
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:26-29">following verses</A>.
For, having shown for what intent the law was given, in the close of
the chapter he acquaints us with our privilege by Christ, where he
particularly declares,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(1.) That <I>we are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
And here we may observe,
[1.] The great and excellent privilege which real Christians enjoy
under the gospel: <I>They are the children of God;</I> they are no
longer accounted servants, but <I>sons;</I> they are not now kept at
such a distance, and under such restraints, as the Jews were, but are
allowed a nearer and freer access to God than was granted to them; yea,
they are admitted into the number, and have a right to all the
privileges, of his children.
[2.] How they come to obtain this privilege, and that is <I>by faith in
Christ Jesus.</I> Having accepted him as their Lord and Saviour, and
relying on him alone for justification and salvation, they are hereupon
admitted into this happy relation to God, and are entitled to the
privileges of it; for
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:12">John i. 12</A>)
<I>as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to those that believe on his name.</I> And this faith in
Christ, whereby they became the children of God, he reminds us
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
was what they professed in baptism; for he adds, <I>As many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.</I> Having in
baptism professed their faith in him, they were thereby devoted to him,
and had, as it were, put on his livery, and declared themselves to be
his servants and disciples; and having thus become the members of
Christ, they were through him owned and accounted as the children of
God. Here note, <I>First,</I> Baptism is now the solemn rite of our
admission into the Christian church, as circumcision was into that of
the Jews. Our Lord Jesus appointed it to be so, in the commission he
gave to his apostles
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+28:19">Matt. xxviii. 19</A>),
and accordingly it was their practice to baptize those whom they had
discipled to the Christian faith; and perhaps the apostle might take
notice of their baptism here, and of their becoming the children of God
through faith in Christ, professed therein, to obviate a further
objection, which the false teachers might be apt to urge in favour of
circumcision. They might be ready to say, "Though it should be allowed
that the law, as given at mount Sinai, was abrogated by the coming of
Christ the promised seed, yet why should circumcision be set aside too,
when that was given to Abraham together with the promise, and long
before the giving of the law by Moses?" But this difficulty is
sufficiently removed when the apostle says, <I>Those who are baptized
into Christ have put on Christ;</I> for thence it appears that under
the gospel baptism comes in the room of circumcision, and that those
who by baptism are devoted to Christ, and do sincerely believe in him,
are to all intents and purposes as much admitted into the privileges of
the Christian state as the Jews were by circumcision into those of the
legal
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+3:3">Phil. iii. 3</A>),
and therefore there was no reason why the use of that should still be
continued. Note, <I>Secondly,</I> In our baptism we put on Christ;
therein we profess our discipleship to him, and are obliged to behave
ourselves as his faithful servants. Being baptized into Christ, we are
baptized into his death, that as he died and rose again, so, in
conformity thereunto, we should die unto sin, and walk in newness of
life
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+6:3,4">Rom. vi. 3, 4</A>);
it would be of great advantage to us did we oftener remember this.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(2.) That this privilege of being the children of God, and of being by
baptism devoted to Christ, is now enjoyed in common by all real
Christians. The law indeed made a difference between Jew and Greek,
giving the Jews on many accounts the pre-eminence: that also made a
difference between <I>bond and free,</I> master and servant, and
between <I>male and female,</I> the males being circumcised. But it is
not so now; they all stand on the same level, <I>and are all one in
Christ Jesus;</I> as the one is not accepted on the account of any
national or personal advantages he may enjoy above the other, so
neither is the other rejected for the want of them; but all who
sincerely believe on Christ, of what nation, or sex, or condition,
soever they be, are accepted of him, and become the children of God
through faith in him.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(3.) That, <I>being Christ's, we are Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise.</I> Their judaizing teachers would have them
believe that they must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, or
they could not be saved: "No," says the apostle, "there is no need of
that; for <I>if you be Christ's,</I> if you sincerely believe on him,
who is the promised seed, in whom all the nations of the earth were to
be blessed, you therefore become the true <I>seed of Abraham,</I> the
father of the faithful, and as such <I>are heirs according to the
promise,</I> and consequently are entitled to the great blessings and
privileges of it." And therefore upon the whole, since it appeared that
justification was not to be attained by the works of the law, but only
by faith in Christ, and that the law of Moses was a temporary
institution and was given for such purposes as were only subservient to
and not subversive of the promise, and that now, under the gospel,
Christians enjoy much greater and better privileges than the Jews did
under that dispensation, it must needs follow that they were very
unreasonable and unwise, in hearkening to those who at once endeavoured
to deprive them of the truth and liberty of the gospel.</P>
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