Galatians 3:24

Context

This verse is part of Galatians, the letter Paul sent to the churches in the region of Galatia. Some people in these churches were teaching that Gentile believers also had to be circumcised and keep the law. In chapter 3, Paul says that Abraham was justified by faith. Because the law came 430 years after the promise, he argues, it cannot annul that promise (3:17), and he explains that the law "was added because of transgressions" (3:19). He goes on to say that before faith came, "we were kept under the law" (3:23), and in this verse he compares the law to a "schoolmaster": "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." The next verse concludes that "after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster" (3:25).

The Greek word rendered "schoolmaster," paidagōgos (παιδαγωγός), referred in Greco-Roman society to a slave who looked after the master's child. This slave escorted the child to school and supervised the child's daily conduct, and the role ended when the child grew up.

Interpretation

• The pedagogical use of the law: Since Martin Luther and John Calvin, the Lutheran and Reformed traditions have held that the law exposes sin and drives people to Christ, citing this verse as support. This is the so-called "second use" or "theological use" of the law. This reading is tied to explanations that distinguish law and gospel and emphasize justification by faith.
• Salvation history: A number of modern commentators read "unto Christ" (εἰς Χριστόν) in a temporal sense, as "until Christ came." On this reading, the verse speaks less of the process of individual conversion than of the temporary role the law played in Israel's history before Christ.
• The Wesleyan tradition: John Wesley and Wesleyan theology accept that the law brings people to Christ by convicting them of sin. At the same time, they are generally understood to hold that the law remains a standard that illuminates the believer's life.

Debates and Issues

• The relationship between believers and the law: One point of debate is whether "we are no longer under a schoolmaster" in 3:25 means that the law as a whole has been abolished. The Westminster Confession of Faith divides the law into moral, ceremonial, and judicial law and teaches that the moral law remains binding on believers. Dispensationalism places greater emphasis on the view that the era of the Mosaic law ended with Christ.
• Translation issues: The term mongak seonsaeng (Korean Revised Version) is rarely used today. The New Korean Revised Version renders it "elementary teacher" (chodeung gyosa), and the New Korean Standard Version renders it "private tutor" (gaein gyosa). Because of the word "teacher," however, the verse is easily taken to mean that the law teaches about Christ. Some commentators note that the Greek term refers less to someone who teaches than to someone who takes charge and supervises.

In the Korean Church

Mongak seonsaeng is a familiar expression to church members who have long read the Korean Revised Version. It is often cited in sermons on the theme that the law makes people aware of sin, while grace comes through Christ.

Related Passages

• Galatians 3:19
• Romans 10:4
• Romans 3:31
• Galatians 2:16