Lesson 6: The Priority of the Promise (Galatians 3:15-20)

Introduction: In Genesis 15:6 it says that “Abram believed the Lord,
and He credited it to him as righteousness.” Paul tells us that this
is the model God has in mind for us. We need to believe and trust
God. If we do, that is sufficient for us to be in a right
relationship with Him. That is our ticket to heaven. But, is this
correct? What about the fact that God gave the Ten Commandments to
His people through Moses? What about the fact that Jesus made
obedience even more difficult by saying that looking “lustfully” was
“heart” adultery and just getting angry subjected you to judgment
just like murder subjects you to judgment(Matthew 5)? Talk about
making the standards more rigorous! Paul discusses the impact of the
law in our study this week. Let’s dive into the Bible and learn more!

1. The Promise

1. 1. Read Galatians 3:15. What do you think is a “human
    covenant?” (A covenant is a contract, an agreement between
    two (or more) people.)

1. 1. 1. Think about the last time you signed a contract. Did
      you promise to do anything? Did the other party
      promise to do something? (Lawyers call these promises
      “consideration.” Each party to the contract makes a
      promise to do something.)

1. 2. Look again at Galatians 3:15. What does Paul say cannot
    be done to a signed contract? (You abide by its terms. You
    cannot ask more, and you cannot do less than you
    promised.)

1. 1. 1. Is that your experience? (Paul is talking about what
      can be enforced. He is talking about the ideal. If
      you give your promise in a contract, you should keep
      it. If you agree that the other person should do a
      specific thing, you should not expect them to do
      more.)

1. 2. Read Galatians 3:16-17. How would you fit the Ten
    Commandments into the discussion we just had about
    contract promises? If the contract is that God considers
    you righteous if you trusted Him, what would be your
    reaction to adding the Ten Commandments? (I would complain
    about a breach of contract. I would complain even more
    loudly if God told me that those rules would be construed
    in the strictest way possible! I would argue that God was
    asking me to do a lot more than the original contract.)

1. 1. 1. What is Paul’s point here? (God would not do that.
      The law was not been given as part of the original
      contract between God and humans. It was given for
      some other purpose. The original contract stands.)

2. Seed

1. 1. Read again Galatians 3:16 and focus on the discussion
    about “seed” and “seeds.” Is Paul saying that this
    contract was not between God and Abraham (and his
    descendants), but rather between God, Abraham and Jesus?

1. 1. 1. How could God make a contract with Himself? God the
      Father made a contract with God the Son?

1. 1. 1. Is there any doubt that the “seed” is Jesus? (Paul
      specifically says that the seed is Christ.)

1. 2. Look again at the beginning of Galatians 3:17. Does Paul
    anticipate that we might not understand this? (He says,
    “What I mean is….” I don’t understand this supposed
    contract with Jesus, so we need to continue to see if Paul
    clarifies it later on.)

1. 1. Read Galatians 3:18. Paul now introduces another legal
    term, “inheritance.” What does inheritance have to do with
    what we are discussing? (A person can inherit contractual
    rights. Let’s say that your father agreed to rent land to
    someone else for ten years for $10,000 a year. If your
    father died, and you inherited the land, you would take
    the land subject to the contract – which means that you
    continue the promise and you continue to benefit from the
    promise made by the other person. I think Paul tells us
    that we inherited Abraham’s interest in the contract made
    between God and Abraham.)

1. 1. Read Galatians 3:19. How does this clarify the prior
    confusion about the Seed? (Instead of saying that the
    “Seed” is a beneficiary of the contract, it says the
    “Seed” is the subject of the contract. That makes perfect
    sense to me!)

2. The Law

1. 1. Let’s look at that part of Galatians 3:19 that talks about
    the “purpose” of the law. What does it state is the
    purpose of the law? (It was added “because of
    transgressions,” and it has a limited time of
    application.)

1. 1. 1. If Jesus obeyed the law on our behalf, and we are not
      subject to the penalty of the law, why would there be
      a need for the law to fill in the gap until Jesus
      came? Why would they need anything? (Think about the
      bigger picture. Does God want us to sin? Obviously
      not. Jesus came and kept the law in part to show that
      Adam could have kept the law. Keeping the law is a
      good thing. When Jesus came, He not only showed us
      how to live (showed us “more than the law” was the
      ideal, just keeping the law was aiming too low), He
      also sent the Holy Spirit to help us live a life in
      accord with God’s will. We needed a guide.)

1. 2. Read Galatians 3:19-20. I’ve included verse 19 because I
    want to focus on the reference to a “mediator.” Who do you
    think is this mediator? Moses? (Read 1 Timothy 2:5-6 and
    Hebrews 9:15. These verses clearly call Jesus our Mediator
    – especially because of His death on our behalf.)

1. 1. 1. Look again at Galatians 19:19. Did Jesus put the law
      into “effect through angels?” How was the law part
      of the mediation? (Read Romans 5:10 and 2 Corinthians
      5:17-19. God is holy and we are not. God’s people,
      during their Egyptian captivity, had apparently lost
      sight of God’s goal for their lives. To help them to
      come into better conformity with God’s will, He gave
      them the law. Thus, I think that Moses is the
      original “mediator.” However, Jesus is the true
      Mediator when He lived and died and paid the penalty
      for our sins.)

1. 1. 1. What is Paul’s point by writing that “God is one?”
      What does this have to do with Jesus being the
      “Mediator?” (A mediator does not represent either
      party. In current American law, a mediator tries to
      bring the two opposing parties into agreement. Jesus
      is fully God and fully human. He is One with God.
      Thus, Jesus has, in the most extraordinary sense,
      brought us together with God.)

1. 2. Re-read the first sentence of Galatians 3:19 and then read
    the first sentence of Galatians 3:21. We will study
    Galatians 3:21 next week, but right now I want you to look
    at the two questions posed in these two verses. Are both
    questions asking us the same thing? (Yes. If we can
    understand the purpose of the law, then we can tell
    whether it is opposed to the original contract between God
    and Abraham.)

1. 1. 1. Considering God’s overall goal for us, is the law in
      conflict with the contract?

1. 1. 1. What did God want Abraham to do? (Trust Him!)

1. 1. 1. Why would God want humans to trust Him? (They would
      live in harmony with God. We would trust that God’s
      way and God’s will were the best thing for our
      lives.)

1. 1. 1. What does the law do for us? (Read Romans 7:7. The
      law reveals God’s will for us. Want to know how to
      live a life in harmony with God’s will? Read the Ten
      Commandments.)

1. 1. 1. What about Jesus’ comments on lust and anger being
      problems on the level of adultery and murder? Is that
      direction something that helps us to be in harmony
      with God? (Read James 1:13-15. Humans do not
      accidentally stumble into adultery or murder. The act
      begins with a desire, a plot in the mind, to do these
      deeds. I think Jesus’ point is that if you do not
      commit adultery or murder simply because you do not
      have the opportunity, your life is not in harmony
      with God’s will. If you are planning to commit
      adultery or murder, then your life is not in harmony
      with God’s will.)

1. 2. How then, should we live? (If we accept Jesus’ life, death
    and resurrection on our behalf, we have assurance that the
    penalty for sin does not apply to us. We are saved. At the
    same time, when we lead a life directed by the Holy
    Spirit, we realize that the whole point of what Jesus did
    was to bring us into harmony with God. Through the aid of
    the Holy Spirit, we choose to direct our thoughts and our
    lives in a way that is consistent with God’s revealed
    commands. We do this because we trust God. We know that
    this will make our lives better, and we know that this
    will bring glory to God!)

1. 1. Friend, will you accept what Jesus has done on your
    behalf? Will you agree to trust Him in all that you do?

Next week: The Road to Faith.