We are left with this nagging question: If God’s story has always been about the promise and not the Law, why then would God have given the Law in the first place?
Paul moves on to answer this very question.
Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.
Paul immediately says there was something about how the promise of God had to be realized through the seed. However, until that day could come, the Law was given to a mediator. I always see and hear a reference to Moses as God’s mediator between God (whom Paul says is one party) and His people.
Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
One might notice how essential this reading is to make this chapter of Galatians consistent. For many who have felt as though we were stretching the logic of “the law is not based on faith,” you may now see the dilemma created if we presume such a statement means the Law runs contrary to faith. In fact, Paul is intentional when he points out that the Law is not opposed to the promises of God. However, if a law could accomplish the same thing as a promise, it would have been given at the beginning. But it cannot; instead, the Law was given for a supplementary purpose that helped the promise of God find its culmination in the Seed.
Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
Paul now introduces a new concept to the teaching. The English here uses harsh language, such as “custody” and “locked up,” making the reader think of prison. In fact, this is not the case at all. The Greek word Paul uses for “guardian” is paidagogos and translates as “pedagogue.” Understanding this idea will make the teaching from Paul explode with relevant meaning.
Many of us (like myself when I first heard the term) may be completely unfamiliar with the term ‘pedagogue’; others may have heard it before. In our western context, the idea of a ‘pedagogue’ is usually the idea of a teacher (the KJV translates this as “schoolmaster”). But in the first century, the idea of a pedagogue was much different than that of a teacher. The pedagogue was a guardian (hence the translation) who was hired when a young individual came upon his or her inheritance (for any number of reasons) before they were old enough to claim that inheritance legally. For example, if we had an 8-year-old boy come upon his inheritance because of the death of his father, he would be too young to legally see his inheritance realized. There would be a pedagogue hired to serve as the boy’s guardian. This role is not the role of teacher; it is the role of protector. It is the pedagogue’s responsibility to see to it that the boy arrives at his inheritance safely and is able to realize its consummation.
Paul just said the Law was given because the time had not yet come for the promise to be realized through the Seed. In the meantime, God needed a guardian who would help get his people to the place where they could realize the consummation of God’s promise. It was the pedagogue of God’s people. But now that faith has come — now that the promise has been realized — there is no need for a pedagogue. Once the child matured, he would lay claim to his inheritance and the role of the pedagogue would be complete.
Paul’s larger point is now that we know God’s promise has been realized (“all nations will be blessed through you”; i.e., salvation has come to the Gentiles), we would no longer subject ourselves to being led by a guardian. The inheritance of Abraham has been claimed. Now, some would use this same logic to argue the Jews should now come out from under the pedagogue and quit following the Law as well, but this would be to take Paul’s teaching metaphor and pull it out of its context, applying it in a way he never intended (this is clear through references to Paul’s kosher lifestyle throughout the New Testament). Lancaster elaborates on this point well in his book.
Now that we have some key context, let’s finish this key section.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Knowing the context now makes this teaching come to life. It is no longer riddled with confusion. God has brought the story to its day of inheritance. We now see the promise of God find its fulfillment and the whole world being invited to redemption.
So now we must turn our attention to what is happening with these Galatian theosabes and their desire to usurp God’s promise.
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