“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”
— Galatians 3:19–25, ESV
Paul’s argument in this passage is often misread by modern interpreters who try to limit his critique either to the ceremonial law or who overextend it to mean the abrogation of all law in every sense. These competing approaches each grasp part of the truth, but they fail to integrate the full theological force of Paul’s words. To read this passage faithfully, we must understand both (1) Paul’s critique of the Law’s condemning power and (2) his treatment of the Law’s role in redemptive history, particularly its function in defining Israel’s identity prior to Christ’s coming.
1. Beyond Ceremonialism: The Law’s Comprehensive Scope
It is incorrect to reduce Paul’s critique here merely to ceremonial regulations. While those are part of what he has in mind, the structure and language of Galatians 3 point to the broader covenantal order established through Moses—which includes both moral and ceremonial dimensions.
a. “Under the Law” ≈ “Under the Pedagogue”
In this chapter, Paul equates being “under the law” (v. 23) with being “under the pedagogue” (v. 24)—a culturally loaded term referring to a strict tutor or disciplinary guardian assigned to oversee a child until adulthood. This metaphor isn’t limited to ceremonial practices. The pedagogue governed every aspect of the child’s conduct. Likewise, Paul sees the Law as a comprehensive regime that governed Israel in her immaturity, both morally and ritually.
b. The Judaizers Demanded More Than Circumcision
The Judaizers—Paul’s opponents in Galatia—did not merely promote circumcision or dietary laws. They taught that full obedience to the Law, both moral and ceremonial, was necessary for justification. Their problem was not simply with rituals but with the belief that anything besides faith was needed to be made right with God. Paul’s response must therefore address the entire system, not just one aspect of it.
c. The Law Cannot Give Life—In Any Form
In verse 21, Paul states emphatically that “if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.” The implication is clear: no form of the Mosaic Law—moral or ceremonial—was ever intended to impart spiritual life. Its function was never salvific. Instead, it revealed sin, provoked transgression (cf. Rom. 7:7–13), and showed the impossibility of justification through works.
d. “Scripture Imprisoned All Under Sin”
Verse 22 universalizes the Law’s condemning function: “the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin.” Paul echoes this same theme in Romans 11:32 (“God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all”). The Law’s role was to highlight the total moral failure of mankind, thereby intensifying the need for grace. This cannot be reduced to ceremonial categories—it includes the whole moral failure of humanity under the covenant of works.
2. Boundary Markers and Redemptive Temporality: The Law as Divider
That said, there is also strong evidence that Paul includes the Law’s ethnic-separating function in his critique. That is, the Law didn’t just condemn individuals morally—it also functioned as a cultural boundary marker that divided Jew from Gentile. Paul is dismantling this role of the Law as well.
a. The Immediate Context: Gentiles and Jewish Identity
Paul’s opponents in Galatia were trying to make Gentiles adopt Jewish identity in order to be counted among God’s people. Circumcision, dietary separation, and Sabbath observance were not just religious duties—they were identity markers. Paul’s entire argument in Galatians 3 and 4 is aimed at demonstrating that justification and covenant inclusion come through faith alone, not through ethnic transformation.
b. Paul Appeals to Abraham Before Circumcision
At the start of chapter 3, Paul argues that Abraham was justified by faith before receiving the sign of circumcision. This undermines the Judaizers’ assumption that Jewish identity was necessary for salvation. Abraham was declared righteous as a Gentile, so to speak—before the Law, before the nation of Israel even existed.
c. Verses 26–28: The Collapse of Distinction
The passage culminates in Galatians 3:26–28, where Paul declares:
“In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith… there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
This is not simply a call for spiritual unity—it marks the end of redemptive-temporal distinctions. The Law, as a covenantal order that temporarily divided humanity, has reached its terminus in Christ. Faith now unites Jew and Gentile in one family.
3. Chris Matthew and the Pedagogue Motif
Chris Matthew makes this point well in his article, Under the Pedagogue, showing that the “pedagogue” image captures both the disciplinary and restrictive functions of the Law. It both condemns (because of sin) and contains (by fencing Israel off from the nations). These two purposes converge in Paul’s analogy: the Law was a necessary but temporary custodian of God’s people until the fullness of time.
4. Redemptive-Historical Fulfillment: The Coming of Faith
The central theme of this passage is eschatological: the Law had a temporary purpose that has now been fulfilled in the coming of Christ.
“Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law… But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” (vv. 23, 25)
This refers not merely to subjective faith in the believer’s heart, but to the historical arrival of the promised seed (v. 19)—Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen (2 Cor. 1:20). Faith, in this sense, is shorthand for the redemptive-historical event of Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection.
5. Timothy George on the Law as Condemnation and Division
Dr. Timothy George offers a compelling summary of the Law’s dual function—both as a condemning power and as a covenantal wall. He writes:
“This image thus brings together both the judicial and the punitive dimensions of the law’s condemning function. Not only does the law declare us guilty before God, thus placing us under its curse, but it also locks us up in prison, preventing our escape… Paul took the metaphor of the fence, however, and radicalized it by turning it into a barbed-wire prison wall.”
“Moreover, if Paul radicalized the function of the law, he also universalized its scope… The whole world… has been shut up under its dominion. Traditionally, of course, the law was understood as the special preserve of the Jews… Yet the same sinful disobedience… has spread throughout all cultures and among all peoples everywhere.”
“In one sense the law itself… has become one of these evil powers insofar as it serves as an instrument of condemnation, judgment, and death.”
— *Timothy George, Galatians: NAC, pp. 206–207
Conclusion: Law’s Curse Removed, Unity Secured
Galatians 3:19–25 is not a narrow polemic against legalism, nor a simple contrast between faith and works. It is a profound declaration that the Mosaic Law—comprising both its moral demands and its ritual boundaries—served a temporary and preparatory role in redemptive history. It imprisoned all under sin. It preserved the covenant line until the Messiah came. But now that Christ has come and faith has arrived, the Law’s condemning power is broken, its divisive boundaries are abolished, and all who believe are united as sons of God in Christ Jesus.
The Council 