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15 "Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one." Galatians 3:15-20

Let's break this down because there's some confusion about what God is doing in the world and church today.

Paul is discussing the covenant we are under. We being the gentile church (Galatians) after the death of Christ. In trying to explain what he's saying he uses a human covenant as an example. He says that a human covenant, after it's been established, cannot be changed or done away with. He then says this holds true with God's covenant as well.

While the covenant with Abraham was understood to be between God and Abraham's seed, being Isaac, Paul saying, in verse 16, the "seed" God made a covenant with was actually Messiah. During the authorship of the covenant with Abraham in Genesis, they understood only the surface of what God was doing. He was entering into a marriage covenant with Abraham's seed. Through the understanding of how these covenant's work, Paul explains that the seed which the covenant and promise was made with Messiah and not Isaac.

In verse 17, Paul starts to explain that the covenant law made with Moses did not do away with the promise made with Abraham. The covenant with Abraham still exists so the promise still exists. The promise made to Abraham is what our inheritance lies on, not the law; as he mentions in verse 18.

As we know, we are no longer under that Mosaic law of washings and sacrifices for salvation, Messiah was the end of that law because He is our sacrifice and He is our washing (Romans 10:4).

In verse 19, Paul goes on to explain why the law even came to Moses 430 years after the promise made with Abraham; because of transgression.

The fact is, sin is supposed to stop. Sin is not in us, as the way it's taught today, it's what we do. Yes, once we do an act, that is within us but we are supposed to stop. That's why we see so many commands to stop sinning - even in the new testament (1 John 2:1, 15-16; 5:18; Acts 3:26; Titus 2:14; Romans 6:3-6, 12-13; John 3:36; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Corinthians 15:34). Because the acts of sin continued within His people, the Good Father "laid down the law" upon His children. This is where this term we still use today comes into play.

So far we understand that God made a promise and covenant with Abraham which was a marriage covenant between God and his seed; which is Messiah. Because the offspring of Abraham continued to sin, instead of following Abrahams faith proven through obedience, God brought in the law of Moses 430 years later. But, this law with Moses did not do away with the promise and covenant with Abraham.

Paul then gives this mic drop statement "until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come".

Paul had already explained that the "seed" is Messiah. He's saying that God made a covenant with Abraham which cannot be done away with. That covenant was a promise of Messiah and until Messiah would come, God brought the law 430 years later. This means we are currently under the covenant made with, the promise made to, Abraham. This is not a covenant of sacrifices and washing as we see with Moses, it's a covenant made with a man of faith.

Is this too hard to believe? Paul said we are grafted into the tree of Israel (Romans 11:11-36). In Romans 2:28-29 we are told a person is not Jew who is one outwardly but who is circumcised of the heart, by the spirit, and not of written code. Paul said to the gentiles of Rome that "it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" (Romans 9:7-8).

What about the teachings of the "New Covenant"? Click Here to learn more about what the original text says and how we came about this teaching.