AGAINST THE LAW — PART 12: GALATIANS 3–5 — THE LAW AS A TUTOR — WAS IT TEMPORARY?
Grace, Obedience, and the Truth Most Refuse to Face
The law was never the problem. Rebellion was.
Greg Witter | Ephraim’s Cry
Hebraic Mindset Study Series
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Now we come to one of the most misused sections in all of Paul’s writings:
Galatians 3–5
This is where people say:
“The law was a tutor until Messiah came.”
“Now that faith has come, we don’t need the law.”
“The law was temporary.”
That is the claim.
But that is not what Paul is saying.
And if you read Galatians without understanding the problem Paul is correcting, you will misread everything he wrote.
So we are going to define it—fully, structurally, and without leaving any place to hide.
WHAT WAS THE ISSUE IN GALATIA?
The issue was never:
“Should believers obey Yahuah?”
The issue was:
“Are you justified by the works of the law or by faith?”
Paul is confronting a specific error:
Trying to be declared righteous through law-keeping.
That is the entire context.
“WHY THEN THE LAW?” — DEFINE IT CORRECTLY
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions…” (Galatians 3:19)
This is foundational.
The law was given to:
Expose sin
Define transgression
Reveal the need for redemption
Not to replace righteousness.
Not to function as a temporary moral system.
“UNTIL THE SEED SHOULD COME” — WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
“…until the Seed should come to whom the promise was made…” (Galatians 3:19)
This does not mean:
The law expires.
It means:
Its role in leading to Messiah reaches fulfillment.
The destination is reached.
But the path does not disappear.
THE LAW AS A TUTOR — DEFINE IT PROPERLY
“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Messiah…” (Galatians 3:24)
The word paidagogos refers to:
A guardian
A supervisor
One who restrains and guides a child
Not the final teacher—but a guide toward maturity.
So the law:
Restrains
Exposes
Directs
It brings you to the realization that you need Messiah.
“NO LONGER UNDER A TUTOR” — WHAT CHANGES?
“But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” (Galatians 3:25)
This does not mean:
The law is gone.
It means:
You are no longer under external supervision.
Because what was external—
Has now become internal.
THIS MATCHES THE COVENANT PROMISE
“I will put My law in their inward parts and write it on their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33)
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.” (Ezekiel 36:27)
So the law did not disappear.
It moved.
From outside → inside
From restraint → transformation
“IMPRISONED UNDER SIN” — WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
“Scripture has confined all under sin…” (Galatians 3:22–23)
The law exposes the condition.
It does not create it.
It reveals:
Your inability
Your failure
Your need for redemption
That is its role as a tutor.
LAW VS PROMISE — NOT OPPOSITES
Paul asks:
“Is the law then against the promises of Elohim? Elohim forbid.” (Galatians 3:21)
This must be locked in:
The promise gives life.
The law defines righteousness.
They are not in opposition.
They serve different roles in the same covenant structure.
SONSHIP — THIS IS WHERE MOST PEOPLE MISS IT
“You are all sons… through faith…” (Galatians 3:26)
And:
“You are no longer a slave, but a son…” (Galatians 4:7)
This is not freedom from righteousness.
This is maturity into it.
Slaves are restrained externally.
Sons live in alignment internally.
THE LAW STILL DEFINES SIN
If the law were removed:
Sin would not exist.
But Paul continues to define sin throughout Galatians.
So the law must still define it.
GALATIANS 5 — WALKING IN THE SPIRIT
“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)
Then Paul lists:
Works of the flesh
Fruit of the Spirit
This is not a replacement for the law.
This is what the law looks like when lived out.
“LED BY THE SPIRIT” — DEFINE IT CORRECTLY
“If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18)
This does not mean:
Outside the law.
It means:
Not under condemnation.
Because you are walking in alignment with what the law defines.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS TORAH LIVED OUT
Love
Joy
Peace
Self-control
These are not alternatives.
They are the expression of righteousness.
“Against such there is no law” means:
There is no condemnation where there is alignment.
PAUL’S WARNING — DO NOT RETURN TO THE FLESH
“O foolish Galatians…” (Galatians 3:1)
“Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)
The issue is not obedience.
The issue is self-justification.
THE “CURSE OF THE LAW” CONNECTION
The law exposes sin.
The curse punishes it.
Messiah removes the curse.
Not the law.
RELATIONAL CONTEXT — DO NOT MISS THIS
Paul warns:
“If you bite and devour one another…” (Galatians 5:15)
This is not abstract theology.
This is real behavior.
He is correcting flesh-driven living—
Not removing the standard of righteousness.
IF THE LAW WAS TEMPORARY — EVERYTHING COLLAPSES
Follow the logic:
If the law was temporary → sin is temporary
If sin is temporary → judgment is temporary
If judgment is temporary → righteousness is irrelevant
That destroys the entire structure.
COMMON SENSE TEST — AGAIN
When a child matures—
Do they discard the standard?
No.
They internalize it.
That is what Paul is describing.
FULL STRUCTURE — LOCK THIS IN
Law reveals
Sin exposes
Tutor restrains
Faith justifies
Spirit transforms
Sonship matures
Law internalized
Obedience lived
FINAL HAMMER — NO ESCAPE
The law was not temporary.
Its role as an external guardian was.
The tutor did not define righteousness.
It pointed you to it.
And once you arrive—
You do not discard righteousness.
You walk in it.
Paul is not removing the law.
He is removing your misuse of it.
And if you use Galatians to justify lawlessness—
You are doing exactly what Paul was correcting.
You don’t remove sin by removing the standard—you expose it and deal with it.
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