February 13, 2010 Lesson 4 of Galatians 3:19-4:7

3:19-24. Paul seems to have made light of the law. How does he state its purpose in this passage? Answer: I don’t feel he has made light of the law. The study I have done and other’s sermons I have listened to tell me that Paul is linking the Law to the Promise and how Christ’s death on the cross covered all sin. Sin of those in the past, present, and future. Christ’s blood covers us. While the law continues to show us God’s moral standard. In what ways does 3:25-4:7 demonstrate the amazing privileges and position of a Christian? Make a list of them in your own words. Answer: 1) we are all 1 in Christ Jesus, 2) If we “belong” to Christ then we too are Abraham’s seed and heir, 3) We are no longer a slave to sin!! Note: 3:19-20. ‘Added because of transgressions’: i.e. the law gave to sin the form of transgression and so made men conscious of guilt before God when they sinned. Cf. Rom 3:19-20; 5:20; 7:7, 13. ‘The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator’: Paul introduces these words to show that the promise is superior to the Law even in the very manner of its promulgation. In the case of Abraham God himself spoke the promises directly, where as the giving of the law was through intermediaries on both sides- God being represented by angels (cf. Deut 33:2, LXX; Acts 7:53; Heb 2:2