Galatians Studies

Book of Galatians    Misunderstanding the law in Galatians 3:19

Koot van Wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Visiting Professor

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint Lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

4 November 2011

           Many in the past was reading Galatians 3:19 thinking that they understood it correctly but by closer inspection of their thoughts, actually did not grasp the significance of what they are saying. Let us translate Galatians 3:19: "Why then the law? It was given for the sake of transgressions [ ]".

           Scholars understood the Greek word charin correctly: in favor of, for the sake of and even compared it to the Latin word gratia and took it later for because of, on account of. Up to this point, not much can be added to their understanding, since the law was given for a reason. The big question is: what reason? When they opened their mouths about this aspect, many church fathers and reformers stepped in a trap of thinking. Let us see what they said:

           Let us paraphrase what all of them was trying to say:

"Because of the transgressions indicates, therefore, this idea, to give a knowledge of transgressions, to make perfectly clear and distinct what were actually transgressions of the divine requirements" (James Boise, Notes on the Greek Text of Paul's Epistles [New York: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1896).

           What was the source of their paraphrase or understanding? Romans 3:20

"Because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for through the Law is a knowledge of sin".

           The scholars of the past was reading Galatians and knowing that Paul wrote both Galatians and Romans, thought they may pay a visit in Romans, pick up a verse, put it in their backpack and walk all the way to Galatians and dump it at Galatians 3:19 and read the one for the other principle. Fusion or hybrid thinking occurred in their hermeneutics. There is nothing wrong in the fusion process when hermeneutics are involved, one has to bring other texts to the table so that all the data can give a harmonious, synopsis of understanding. But, that being said, one has to be careful not to mix apples and oranges.

           That the law came to point out our transgressions (as is in Romans 3:20) was then read into the "because transgressions" in Galatians 3:19. Many read it this way: Augustine, Calvin, Beza, Winer in his New Testament Grammar, Ellicott, and others.

           "In keeping with this idea, and perhaps implied, is the interpretation 'to restrain transgressions'" (Boise 1896: 329). This was a positive understanding of the law that it came to help people not to sin or keep them from doing wrong. Many read it this way: Chrysostom, Jerome, Erasmus, Olshausen, Neander, De Wette, Ewald, and others.

           Similar were the thoughts of other scholars: "To give a clear conception what were actually transgressions, and also to restrain them" (Boise 1896: 330). This was the reading of Luther, Bengel and others. He combined the negative and positive function of the law here. The law point out our bad things but also show us what we should do in society if we are to survive.

           Another group of scholars read it: "To create transgressions, to muliply them" (Boise 1896: 330). Scholars who read it this way were: Meyer and also Lightfoot.

Let us summarize:

a. law to point out transgressions

b. law to restrain transgressions

c. law to clarify transgressions and help us avoid them

d. law to create and multiply transgressions.

           If the verse did not have any more data and if the chapter did not provide more data, it would have been easy to select between these four positions for an answer of the law in Galatians. But that is not possible. There is a second part of the verse that needs attention.

Galatians 3:19

"until He, the seed come, to whom the promise has been made".

Who was to come? Christ the Messiah. When did He come? 4 BCE until His death on the cross in 31 CE. Thus, the verse is saying that the law came until 31 CE and not more.

           Is Galatians saying that when Christ came and died the ten commandments were nullified and made of no effect? In Romans Paul says yes, the accusation aspect was nullified. The law is an accuser of those who sins. When the accusing aspect was nullified in 31 CE, does the book of Romans say the law or ten commandments is destroyed? "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not (me genoito!)" (Romans 6:15).

But Galatians says the law was only until Christ to whom the promise was made. "Is then the law against the promises? Absolutely not! (me genoito!)" Galatians 3:21.

           Following the thinking of the church fathers and Reformers, the picture gets murky now. The ten commandments were only until Christ, pointed out transgressions and was not against Christ? Very confusing taking the thinking of the church fathers and reformers. What about us who live in 2011? Are there commandments for us? Did the ethics of the Mount of Olives in Matthew 5 replace the Ten Commandments?

           However, Paul is not finish. Galatians 3:23 holds a key for us to understand that is combined with verse 22.

"But before faith came, we were guarded/shut up under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed".

           What faith? Not the faith of Abraham. It was faith that was to be revealed later. When that faith was revealed we were no longer guarded/shut up under the law.

Paul begins to elaborate in Galatians 3:24:

"Therefore the law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we may be justified out of faith. But when the faith came, we are no longer under the tutor".

           Wait a minute. While we were accused by the Ten Commandments it protected and kept us as tutor until Christ came in 31 CE and now we are no longer under the ten commandments? This is the result of the church fathers and reformers reading of Romans into Galatians without letting the text of Galatians speaks for itself.

           The ceremonial system was given to Adam and Eve and that is why Abel was sacrificing correctly. Noah sacrificed. Abraham was ordered to sacrifice and what God decided to give Israel out of Exodus at Sinai was a kindergarten lesson of salvation. In the Sanctuary system Israel could see the acts of salvation from compartment to compartment in the future acts of the Messiah on their behalf. And all required faith, faith in the Faith to come, His perfect faith that will be the substitutionary faith for all unto salvation. The ceremonial legal system of sacrifices and tabernacle service was the paidogogos or tutor that kept Israel under save protection. It was the tutor until the Lamb of God would come and the High Priest Christ took on His priestly role in the heavenly sanctuary, as Paul described in the whole book of Hebrews.

Galatians 3:25 said correctly: "But now that Faith has come, we are no longer under the tutor".

           What tutor. the ten commandments? No. The ceremonial laws. The sanctuary legal and saving system found their a-typical reality in the body and life and works of Christ and thus were no longer necessary. Our High Priest is now in heaven. This tutor of salvation from Adam and again clearly embodied in the laws of Moses pertaining to sacrifices and offerings are no longer necessary in this form. That is Paul's clear message in the book of Hebrews.

           The ten commandments are eternal. That is clear from the Psalm 111:7-9 and there are many more texts. It is a systematic theology from cover to cover. There is no way that the ten commandments were only until 31 CE and that we are no longer under it. That includes the seventh-day Sabbath rest conforming to God, the Lawgiver’s example at Creation.

           We have no other way than to shelve Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Beza, De Wette, Chrysostom, Winer, Jerome, Erasmus, Neander, Ellicott, Bengel, Ewald, Meyer and Lighthouse, to mention a few on this particular verse in Galatians 3:19. They were misconceived on Galatians 3:19 by mistakenly reading Romans 3:20 into the verse and even fused it in such a way to make Paul say what he never intended to say in Galatians 3.

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was salvation in a nutshell waiting for big things to happen in Christ