Deep Dive into Matthew Poole’s Commentary on the Holy Bible, Volumes 1–3 - Galatians 3

The Law was instituted primarily because of transgressions, serving as a temporary provision until the coming of Christ, the specific Seed of Abraham. Given 430 years after the promise, the Law could not disannul the confirmed covenant of grace, nor could it provide life or justification; if it could, righteousness would have been by the Law. Instead, its function was to restrain sin and, crucially, to show and discover sin, thereby making men realize their absolute need for a Mediator.

Operating as a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, the Law, both moral and ceremonial, guided people toward faith. The ceremonial law achieved this through its types and sacrifices, while the moral law exposed sin and condemned transgressors, demonstrating that within the Law itself, there was no help for the guilt or power of sin. This temporary confinement under the Law prepared people to obtain justification by believing in Christ.

Justification is achieved through faith, patterned after Abraham, who obtained righteousness because he believed God. This righteousness was accounted to him by imputation, not by works or circumcision. Similarly, believers—whether Jew or Gentile, male or female—are considered Abraham's spiritual children and heirs by being one in Christ Jesus.

The condition of those under the Law is to be under the curse, because man cannot continue in all things written in the Law to do them perfectly. Christ redeemed believers from this curse by being made a curse for them, paying the price through His death and bearing the wrath of God due for sin. This sacrifice ensures that the blessing of Abraham—which includes the spiritual blessings of justification, reconciliation, and adoption—comes upon all believers through Christ, allowing them to receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Galatians were called foolish because they were seduced by false teachers into attempting to complete their justification by the flesh (the Law’s carnal ordinances, or "beggarly elements"), despite having begun correctly in the Spirit (the Gospel). This regression sought to add temporary, inferior means to the perfect doctrine of the Gospel.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

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