Galatians 3 (4)

Pray Psalm 105.1, 2, 8-11.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works...
He remembers His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance…”

Sing Psalm 105.1, 2, 8-11.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Give thanks unto the LORD Most High; call on His Name, before Him cry!
Make known His deeds in every land; sing praise for all the works of His hand.

He will His covenant faithfully guard—His oath, the promise of His Word.
That which He to our fathers swore, He will perform forevermore!

Read Galatians 3.1-18; meditate on verses 15-18.

Preparation
1. To Whom ultimately did God make promises?

2. Does the Law nullify the promises of God?

Meditation
God has not set aside the promise of life—for Jews and Gentiles alike—which God gave to Abraham. The giving of the Law, 430 years after the promise to Abraham, was not a different covenant but an expansion and enrichment of the existing covenant. It provided the means (Law) for us to gain the promises—blessed to be a blessing. God always keeps His Word, whether to Abraham or Moses or you and me.

Because, as Paul deftly pointed out, that promise, though it reaches to and embraces God’s chosen people from every nation, is ultimately not to them (us). Ultimately, God’s promise of a people who are blessed and a blessing to the world was made to His Son, Who is Jesus Christ. Paul used a single point of grammar to draw this to our attention, Moses’ use of the singular “Seed” instead of the plural (“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable…” 2 Tim. 3.16).

So does it make sense that God would ever set aside, ever not fulfill, or ever ignore promises made to His own Son? No. Not at all. All the promises of God are Yes! and Amen! in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1.20).

And all the Law of God is fulfilled in Him as well (Matt. 5.17-19). The full realization of everything God has promised for righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit is to be enjoyed in Jesus. And the holiness for which God has separated us as saints unto Himself will also be realized in Him.

And He lives in us!

The Law does not set aside the promises. It enriches the promises, makes them more desirable, puts them more within our reach, and ultimately, as a component of God’s covenant, points beyond itself to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has redeemed us from the curse of sin and sent His Spirit to dwell in our hearts by faith.

Here is a great mystery. But also, truth to be known and enjoyed.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” (Is. 9.6).

“Then the angel said to them,
‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord’” (Lk. 2.10, 11).

“Therefore it is of faith
that it might be according to grace,
so that the promise might be sure to all the seed,
not only to those who are of the law,
but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of us all
(as it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’)
in the presence of Him Whom he believed—God,
Who gives life to the dead
and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that
he became the father of many nations,
according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be’ (Rom. 4.16-18).

In earthly terms a promise is defined as a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified; and/or, a legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act. To that definition, add all the heavenly nuances and inclusions of promises coming directly from God, and we have the Word Promise, loaded with the weight of glory.

“Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…even Jesus…the Mediator of the new covenant…and a kingdom which cannot be shaken…” (Heb. 6.17-20; 12.24, 28).

“Exceedingly great and precious promises have been given to us…” (2 Pet. 1.4), all of which will be performed by God for us, as He will perfect that which concerns us (Ps. 138.8) in His time and in His way.

“The full realization of everything God has promised for righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit is to be enjoyed in Jesus. And the holiness for which God has separated us as saints unto Himself will also be realized in Him.”

Only Jesus.

Reflection
1. “[W]e have the Word Promise, loaded with the weight of glory.” What does this mean for you?

2. Keeping the Law is the way into a fuller realization of the promises. Why is this not salvation by works?

3. Whom will you encourage in the Word Promise: Jesus?

[I]f you do not understand that the promise is free, there will be no force in the statement; for the law and the promise are not at variance but on this single point, that the law justifies a man by the merit of works, and the promise bestows righteousness freely. This is made abundantly clear when he calls it a covenant founded on Christ. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Galatians 3.17

Pray Psalm 105.3-7, 45.
Seek the Lord and His Presence and strength for the work ahead of you today. Rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness, and resolve to live toward His promises and walk within His Law always.

Sing Psalm 105.3-7, 45.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Glory in God, rejoice in heart, all you who seek His holy part.
Him and His strength and Presence seek; His works proclaim, His judgments speak.

You holy children of Abraham, you chosen ones of Jacob, stand!
He is our LORD, of wondrous worth; His judgments are in all the earth.

So let us all in our Savior confide, and in His holy Law abide.
Let us observe His glorious Word, and praise our sovereign, faithful LORD!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.