Peter Barnes: Law and Promise Fitting Together, Galatians 3:15-18 (Sunday 3 May 2020 Evening Service, 6.00 p.m.)
The Sinaitic covenant obviously has some similarities with a covenant of works (cf. 2 Cor.3:6-9; Heb.8:9), yet it is not.
1. The promise comes first. – for over 430 years God’s covenant people worshipped the Lord without the tabernacle, no detailed offerings, no priests; indeed, with nothing but the promises that God gave to Abraham. – having begun with grace, God will not conclude with law. The covenant with Moses did not annul the covenant with Abraham – Ex. 2:24-25; 6:2-8.
2. The promise is fulfilled in Christ. – ‘seed’ or ‘offspring’ can be singular (3:16) or plural (as in 3:29). – Genesis 13:15-16; 15:18; 17:8; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14. All promises are fulfilled in Christ – 2 Cor.1:20. From the One will come blessing to the many; the seed are blessed in the Seed. – Psalm 8 is applied to Christ first in Hebrews 2:6-9. The One fulfills the conditions on behalf of the many.
3. The promise is inviolable. – Paul draws on an illustration from human practice e.g. Rom.6:19; Luke 11:11-13. It is an argument from the lesser to the greater. – covenant or will? (see Hebrews 9:15-17) As Calvin says, both meanings can yield good sense, although he opts for ‘covenant’. – If you have a contract to buy a car, the seller cannot add $1,000 to the price. The dispensationalist, Lewis Sperry Chafer, wrote: ‘The Law of Moses presents a covenant of works to be wrought in the energy of the flesh; the teachings of grace present a covenant of faith to be wrought in the energy of the Spirit.’ This is to make them argue with one another.
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