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The Apostle Paul, in the context we are studying, makes it quite clear that the law of
God is certainly not "through or by faith", that is, it has nothing to do with the thought of
receiving a right standing with God as a gracious gift through faith in Christ. Rather it
stresses that if works are to be the basis of forgiveness and life eternal, then such
obedience to the law must be absolutely complete (Gal. 3: 12) and that is utterly
impossible for any human being because all the world is guilty before a righteous God.
There is "none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3: 10, 19). Thus the emptiness and
deceitfulness of the Judaizers' contention that the law must be introduced into the gospel
is made manifest.
Paul goes on to deal with the fact that, in breaking the covenant of the law the Jew
came under its curse which was the terrible penalty imposed by the Old Testament upon
law-breakers. Hence the need for their Messiah to bear that curse so that they could be
for ever freed from it:
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it
is written cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3: 13).
The Apostle here quotes Deut. 21: 23 "a hanged man is accursed by God". This
does not mean that he was cursed because he hung from a tree, but rather that this was
the outward sign that he had broken the covenant of law and brought the curse and
punishment upon himself.
This was a death of degradation and shame and into this terrible experience the Lord
Jesus willingly entered so that those under the curse might be freed from it for ever. He
Himself became the accursed one to free those under the curse! (see also II Cor. 5: 21).
Perhaps it was at this point on calvary's cross that the Father had to turn away His gaze
from His beloved Son, which wrung those words of agony from Christ "My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27: 46). During those hours of physical
darkness we shall never know what bearing the penalty for our sins cost the Saviour.
Keeping this in mind, may God constantly deliver us from a light estimate of sin.
Verse 14 which follows shows that the deliverance of Israel from the curse of a broken
covenant of law was utterly essential if the earthly kingdom purpose of God was to be
fulfilled, the Gentile world reached and the unconditional promise to Abraham realized,
that in his seed all families of the earth should be blessed (Gen. 12:). Paul expresses it in
this way:
". . . . . that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3: 14).
And now, lest anyone should argue that the law nullified these earlier promises of God
to Abraham, the Apostle shows that this was impossible. In order to make this clear he
gives as an example a man's last will and testament. The Greek diatheke can mean
covenant or testament. In order to understand this passage we must remove from our
minds the modern conception of making a will, as the legal requirements were different
in N.T. days. For instance Paul says "though it be a man's covenant (or will), yet if it be
confirmed no man disannulleth or added thereto". Adding to a confirmed will was