Paul Declares the Laws Purpose Part 1
Galatians
3:19-20 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and
it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a
mediator of one, but God is one. KJVPaul now answers the question that he knew surely would come from his Jewish detractors concerning the Law of Moses and that is why did God even give Moses His Law if it did not have a purpose? This question coming from Jews would not only refer to the Ten Commandments, but also the many ceremonial laws Moses was given through the ministration of angels (Psalms 68:17 & Acts 7:53) as we find detailed in the Book of Exodus and the Book of Leviticus. Paul writes that Moses was God’s mediator of His Law to the people of Israel. The English word mediator is translated by the Greek word mesites which means a go between or intercessor as Moses wrote concerning The LORD (YAHWEH), himself, and the people of Israel when he said, “Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully. The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire, while I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said, ‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.’” (Deuteronomy 5:1-6).
Paul declares however, that a mediator or mesites must have two parties to serve as did Moses above with God and Israel concerning God’s Law, but as concerning the promise of God made by covenant with Abraham, no mediator or mesites is applicable because Abraham is not here to serve as the second party with God the Father. Also, Moses was not even alive when God made this “covenant of promise” with Abraham, therefore, Moses has no part at all with the “promise”, but solely and only with the “Law” of God. Moses declares and testifies of his separation from the “promise” when he warned the nation Israel from following after the evil practices of the nation’s (Deuteronomy 18:9-14) God would drive out of the land and give to Israel as He promised them through Abraham, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to Him (the Lord Jesus Christ).” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Moses knew that his ministration of the “Law of God” to the people of Israel was not meant to supplant God’s “covenant of promise” to Abraham’s “Seed” our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ opposed the Jews ignorance of this truth and their putting all their hope in Moses and the Law as He told them that Moses would stand as judge against them and their ignorance (John 5:39-47).
Despite the fact that the “Law” was not given to man until Moses, man still bore testimony of the “Law” in their consciences even during the days before God gave His “Law” to man. Paul wrote that very idea when he said this to the Romans, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:14-16). The “Law” was given on the stone tablets on Mount Saini to show mankind the exceedingly sinfulness of their sin in the light or comparison to a perfect, pristine, and pure God.
The dreaded and dreadful enemy of every person Jew or Gentile is the “sinful nature” we inherited from our parents Adam and Eve, therefore, because this nature is “unseen” in the “inner man”, God gave His “Law” through angels to Moses, so that every man’s mouth would be shut (Romans 3:19) and closed tightly before Him thinking that “in them” there resides any goodness (Romans 7:18). It is the bent of every person (even now) to think of or consider themselves to be “good people” as they compare themselves with others, but when we compare ourselves to God (as we see His perfect and pure “Goodness”) in His “Law” we are undone as Isaiah wrote in this manner, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.” (Isaiah 64:6-7). When any sinner is truly justified by “faith in Jesus Christ”, they hear the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ (at that instant, moment, or time of their conversion/new birth) saying as He did to so many in the Gospels, “And He said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:48). Observance of the “Law” is futile to sinful humanity and can never bring about this great assurance!
My own Personal Note: The mistake that the Jews made so long ago (regarding God’s Moral and Ceremonial Law given to them through Moses) and have handed down to every Jewish generation since is that the “Law” was somehow God’s method of correcting their sin before Him, but when we listen to the words written by Moses himself in Deuteronomy 18:9-22 it is clear that Moses understood that “One” was coming after him and greater than him who would fulfill God’s long waited for “promise” to Abraham that the “Law” could never do.
“The moral law was added to the promise to discover and restrain transgressions, to convince men of their guilt, and need of the promise, and give some check to sin. And this law passeth not away; but the ceremonial law was only introduced till Christ, the seed to or through whom the promise was made, should come. And it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator - It was not given to Israel, like the promise to Abraham, immediately from God Himself; but was conveyed by the ministry of angels to Moses, and delivered into his hand as a mediator between God and them, to remind them of the great Mediator.” John Wesley
“And the word transgression, by its Pauline and Jewish usage, compels us to this view. Transgression presupposes law. It is the specific form which sin takes under law-the reaction of sin against law. What was before a latent tendency, a bias of disposition, now starts to light as a flagrant, guilty fact. By bringing about repeated transgressions the Law reveals the true nature of sin, so that it ‘becomes exceeding sinful.’ It does not make matters worse; but it shows how bad they really are. It aggravates the disease, in order to bring it to a crisis. And this is a necessary step towards the cure.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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