Galatians 3:22
22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Truth to Learn
Scripture has declared that all of us are trapped by sinfulness. Since we can’t earn our righteousness by obeying a set of rules, we have to rely on the goodness and grace of God.
Behind the Words
The verb translated “has confined” is “sunekleisen,” which is a compound word made up of “sun” meaning together and a form of “kleio” meaning to shut up or to enclose. Hence, it means to confine together as if in a prison. The same word is used in Luke 5:6 where it is translated as “enclosed.”
Luke 5:6 6When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;
All of the fish which they caught were confined together by the net just as we are confined, or imprisoned, by Scripture.
Meaning Explained
Once again Paul is personifying the Scripture. That is, he is giving it personal attributes and abilities, whereas in reality it is God who is doing the action. He tells us that Scripture has enclosed us, like in a prison, because we are all sinners. Paul is likely referring to:
Psalms 14:2-3 2The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
This is repeated again in the New Testament in:
Romans 3:10-12 10As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. 12They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.”
And, in that same letter Paul tells the Romans, as he does the Galatian Christians here, that we are imprisoned by our sin:
Romans 11:32 32For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
But why would God allow all of mankind to be imprisoned by sin? Because God wants the promise of eternal life, the covenant of righteousness, the blessing of salvation, to be a gift from Him to us. Do you see it? Paul is making it clear once again that we can’t earn our righteousness. We can’t perform acts of obedience or acts of contrition that will earn us righteousness. If we could earn it by obedience, then obeying the Law would be able to produce righteousness, but it can’t.
The promise of eternal life, the covenant of righteousness, is a one-sided contract with God as the only signatory. He gives us eternal life, not because we have done anything to earn it, but because He wants us to know how merciful and gracious He is.
So What?
Has Paul convinced you yet? There is nothing that you can do to earn your salvation. If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins, then God has declared you righteous and eternal life is promised to you. Period!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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