Useful Bible Studies > Galatians Commentary > chapter 3

The rules and the promises

Galatians 3:21-29

God gave the rules so that people would accept his promises

So, there are God’s rules and there are God’s promises. God, who gave the rules, also gave the promises. They are not opposites. God gave them both for the same reason. God gave the rules so that people would accept the promises.

First, people had to know the wrong things that they were doing. So they needed God’s rules. Then, they had to believe God. So they needed his promises. They would ask Christ to come into their lives. And God would make them *righteous.

God’s rules teach people not to do wrong things; his promises make people free

God always wanted his people to be free. But he did not want them to do whatever they wanted. He did not want them to do things that are wrong and bad. So he made his rules, which were like a teacher. A teacher teaches his students not to do wrong things. And while he teaches them, they are not free. But after that, they become free.

And so, at the proper time, Christ came. Christ came because of God’s promises. Christ died so that God could make his people *righteous. And then God’s people are free. They are not free because of the things that they have done. They are not free because they obeyed rules. They are free because of Christ.

God says that his people are *righteous

They themselves are not *righteous. They have done many wrong things. But Christ was *righteous. So God says that they are *righteous. They are like someone who wears another person’s clothes. When God looks at them, he sees Christ. Or, they are like someone who has married Christ. We think that a man and his wife are separate people. But God sees them both as one person.

When people belong to Christ, they are not still separate from each other. People see *Jews and other people. People see males and females. People see slaves and free people. But God sees his people. They are Christ’s, and, like Abraham, they believe. So they receive all that God promised to Abraham. Those promises were really to Christ (Galatians 3:16). And God’s people belong to Christ. So those promises are for them.

Next part: God has made his people free

See the word list for explanation of words with a *

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