THE SCHOOLMASTER

Gal 3:24-25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

In the verses preceding the lesson text, verses 19-23, the apostle Paul continues his rebuke against the Jewish Christians that, were demanding, and teaching, that rites and practices ordained within the Law of Moses were to be included in the Christian doctrine, which had been established by the inspired apostles that delivered the gospel message of Jesus Christ. The covenant between God and the children of Israel, was given from Mount Sinai to God's chosen mediator, Moses. Its purpose was to establish the laws of worship and conduct specifically for the Jewish nation. It was added temporarily till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made (Vs. 19). God promised Abraham a great nation through his seed, but God, more importantly, promised the world a Savior through the Seed of Abraham - Jesus Christ.

The Old Covenant was given to that great nation, the children of Israel, through Moses. It was temporary; It was added because of (the) transgressions (Vs. 19)of the Jewish people. The New Covenant was given, as God's promised blessing, to all nations of the world through Jesus Christ. Reading Hebrews 8:7-13, we find if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second (Heb. 8:7). If the Old Covenant could have given (eternal) life, there would have been no reason for the New Covenant (See Gal. 3:21 above). However, this was never in God's plan of salvation. Therefore, a New Covenant was required in order that sinful men and women could be justified with God, their heavenly Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Through the works required in the Old Covenant law, eternal salvation could not possibly be attained. The promise of a hope of eternal salvation was made by faith in Jesus Christ; it was given to them that believe (Vs. 22 above). The Old Covenant served only to prepare the world for faith (in Jesus Christ), which should afterwards be revealed (Vs. 23).

Having established the truth that the Old Covenant had been fulfilled by Christ (Matt. 5:17), and replaced by the New Covenant between God and all faithful, obedient Christians, Paul continues by saying in the lesson text, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. There could be no justification between God and mankind under the Law of Moses. But, while under the Old Covenant, Jesus, the Son of God, was born into the world as the Savior of mankind. The Old Law was the schoolmaster that ushered in the era of Christianity that did, indeed, bring complete remission of sins, and justification with God, to all that believed, obeyed, and were baptized into the body of Christ. In the sermon he delivered in Antioch of Pisidia, Paul, by inspiration, preached this lesson, that by Him (Jesus Christ) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses (Acts 13:39).

As used here to describe the Law of Moses, the term "schoolmaster," means a pedagogue, a teacher, or a tutor. The children of Israel were to learn from it. It was a moral law designed by God to demonstrate that they were condemned sinners in need of justification with their Creator, the God whom they were commanded to worship. They were, also, to learn from their prophets, who were sent by God, and who foretold the coming of their Messiah, their Savior, the Son of God, in order that they might be justified by faith. Although there are many such prophesies, consider the prophecy of Jeremiah, when he told the children of Israel, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and in that New Covenant, ... saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people (See Jer. 31:31-34). The New Covenant was to be founded, not on rituals, rites, and ceremonies, but on faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior.

But after that faith is come (that is, after Jesus Christ has come and established His kingdom), we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Paul continues by writing, For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:26-29). The work of the "Schoolmaster" is completed; God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled!