Galatians 3:23
23But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.
Truth to Learn
The purpose of the Law was to demonstrate our own sinfulness and our inability to become righteous through its observance. Now that Christ has come and offered Himself, we are no longer bound and kept under guard by the Law.
Behind the Words
The word translated “faith” has the definite article in the Greek. Hence it refers to “the faith.” This is a reference to faith in Christ as the specific faith rather than faith in general.
The word translated “we were kept in custody” is “ephrouroumetha” which means to be kept under guard or under custody. This is a continuation of the imagery that Paul used in the previous verse when he said we were “confined in sin.” It is a picture of someone who is imprisoned and kept under constant watch to ensure there is no escape. Under this imprisonment we were “shut up.” This is a word that we looked at in the previous verse meaning “enclosed as in a prison.”
The expression “to the faith” in the latter half of this verse is from the Greek, “eis tēn pistin.” The Greek word “eis” means into or unto but it also carries the idea of for. In this case it likely means that we were shut up in preparation for the faith to be revealed.
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse we learned that scripture has declared us all to be sinners so that we are imprisoned by our inability to earn our righteousness. Paul continues on with this analogy by declaring that until faith in Christ came along we were kept under guard in our imprisonment by the Law.
The purpose for this imprisonment was not to prevent us from obtaining righteousness but to keep us aware of our sinfulness until righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ came along. At the time the Law was delivered to the Israelites they were already looking for a Messiah but the “Anointed One” that they were expecting was a conquering, liberating ruler. Before He could come as a King, however, the Messiah had to come as a sacrificial Lamb. This is the Lamb that Abraham was speaking of when he told his son Isaac:
Genesis 22:8a 8And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”
Now that the Lamb has come and has been sacrificed for us we are no longer kept under guard by the Law. The Law no longer has that purpose. Belief that the blood of Christ paid for our sins now liberates us from the Law.
So What?
Do you want to be free? Trying to obey the Law or any other set of rules produces imprisonment. Only the truth about the Lamb of God frees us from the Law and sin.
John 8:32 32And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to: