GALATIANS (17): The Law points to Christ (Galatians 3:22-26)
In these verses, Paul continues to describe how the Law serves the purpose of preparing man to receive salvation through faith in Christ. The Law of Moses consists of (1) the Moral Law, which revealed His absolute righteousness, (2) the Ceremonial Law, which revealed what Christ would do to save us, and (3) the Civic Law, which revealed that God’s justice demanded punishment when laws were broken.
The Moral Law proved all men are guilty, under sin, so that our only hope of salvation is through faith in Christ (v22). The Ceremonial Law acted like a tutor, governing the life of Israel and keeping her separate from the nations, preserving her from corruption, as well as the truth with which she had been entrusted by God (v23). For Messiah to come and perfectly fulfil the Law, He needed to be born into a nation where the Law was honoured as God’s Word. The Ceremonial Law, as a tutor, also pointed to the way of salvation through Christ, so that men would be justified by faith in the coming Messiah (v24).
But now that Christ has come, and we have put our faith in Him for salvation, we are no longer under the Law (v25), for it has now fulfilled its preparatory role in our life. Just as a child is kept under external supervision, until he becomes a mature grown-up son (‘huios’), able to choose for himself, so likewise we lived under law, until we became a son (huios’) of God, which took place when we put our trust in Christ (v26). Just as a child is set free from external supervision when he becomes a ‘huios’, so we were set free from the Law, when we became sons of God through faith in Christ, for we no longer need an external tutor to control our behaviour, because we are now constrained by the love of Christ within us (2Corinthians 5:14).
The Moral Law proved all men are guilty, under sin, so that our only hope of salvation is through faith in Christ (v22). The Ceremonial Law acted like a tutor, governing the life of Israel and keeping her separate from the nations, preserving her from corruption, as well as the truth with which she had been entrusted by God (v23). For Messiah to come and perfectly fulfil the Law, He needed to be born into a nation where the Law was honoured as God’s Word. The Ceremonial Law, as a tutor, also pointed to the way of salvation through Christ, so that men would be justified by faith in the coming Messiah (v24).
But now that Christ has come, and we have put our faith in Him for salvation, we are no longer under the Law (v25), for it has now fulfilled its preparatory role in our life. Just as a child is kept under external supervision, until he becomes a mature grown-up son (‘huios’), able to choose for himself, so likewise we lived under law, until we became a son (huios’) of God, which took place when we put our trust in Christ (v26). Just as a child is set free from external supervision when he becomes a ‘huios’, so we were set free from the Law, when we became sons of God through faith in Christ, for we no longer need an external tutor to control our behaviour, because we are now constrained by the love of Christ within us (2Corinthians 5:14).