to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — second aorist active infinitive
kept
ἐφρουρούμεθαephrouroumetha
G5432
to be a watcher in advance · verb — imperfect passive indicative, 1st person plural
under
ὑπὸhupo
G5259
under · preposition
law
νόμονnomon
G3551
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — accusative singular masculine
up
συγκλειόμενοιsugkleiomenoi
G4788
to shut together · verb — present passive participle, nominative plural masculine
unto
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
faith
πίστινpistin
G4102
persuasion · noun — accusative singular feminine
which
τοῦtou
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — genitive singular neuter
afterwards
μέλλουσανmellousan
G3195
to intend · verb — present active participle, accusative singular feminine
revealed
ἀποκαλυφθῆναι.apokaluphthēnai
G601
to take off the cover · verb — aorist passive infinitive
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Galatians 3:24-25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Romans 6:14-15 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was o…
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the worl…
Galatians 4:1-5 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
1 Peter 1:11-12 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Ch…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Galatians 3:19–end
The apostle having just before been speaking of the promise made to Abraham, and representing that as the rule of our justification, and not the law, lest they should think he did too much derogate from the law, and render it altogether useless, he thence takes occasion to discourse of the design and tendency of it, and to acquaint us for what purposes it was given. It might be asked, "If that promise be sufficient for salvation, wherefore then serveth the law? Or, Why did God give the law by Moses?" To this he answers,
I. The law was added because of transgressions, Gal 3:19. It was not designed to disannul the promise, and to establish a different way of justification from that which was s…
faith--namely, that just mentioned (Gal 3:22), of which Christ is the object.
kept--Greek, "kept in ward": the effect of the "shutting up" (Gal 3:22; Gal 4:2; Rom 7:6).
unto--"with a view to the faith," &c. We were, in a manner, morally forced to it, so that there remained to us no refuge but faith. Compare the phrase, Psa 78:50, Margin; Psa 31:8.
which should afterwards, &c.--"which was afterwards to be revealed."
Adam Clarke on Galatians 3:23
But before faith came - Before the Gospel was published.
We were kept under the law, shut up - Εφρουρουμεθα· We were kept as in a strong hold, συγκεκλεισμενοι, locked up, unto the faith - the religion of the Lord Jesus, which should afterwards be revealed. Here the same metaphor is used as above, and for its explanation I must refer the reader to the same place, Rom 11:32 (note).
John Gill on Galatians 3:23
But before faith came,.... This is to be understood, not of the grace of faith, which was under the former dispensation, as now; the Old Testament saints had the same Spirit of faith, and the same grace of faith, as for its nature, object, and use, as New Testament saints have; Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, &c. believed in Christ, and were justified by faith in his righteousness, as we are. It is much better to understand it of the doctrine of faith, which though preached to Adam, and by Noah, and to Abraham, and by Isaiah, and others, yet not so clearly, largely, and fully, as by Jesus Christ and his apostles; so that the times of the Gospel may be called the times of faith, in comparis…
The Church Fathers
Here he clearly puts forward what I have stated: for the expressions "we were kept" and "shut up," signify nothing else than the security given by the commandments of the Law; which like a fortress fenced them round with fear and a life conformable to itself, and so preserved them unto Faith.
"before faith came." For indeed it did not afford the kind of security that would prevent most people from committing sins. "restrained." Being guarded, he says, toward the faith that was to come. How? For the law, which was exposing our sins but was not able to rescue, did nothing else than urge those who were more eager to run toward the faith that would be revealed for the deliverance from sins. — [OECUMENIUS] "until the faith that was to come would be revealed." He declared that the faith in Christ had been predestined from above, but has now been revealed to men, when the Incarnation also took place. [end of the excerpt by Oecumenius] —
For that faith is the one universal salvation of humanity, and that there is the same equality before the righteous and loving God, and the same fellowship between Him and all, the apostle most clearly showed, speaking to the following effect: "Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed, so that the law became our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith; but after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." Do you not hear that we are no longer under that law which was accompanied with fear, but under the Word, the master of free choice?
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Galatians 3:23-29
23. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
23. Antequam autem veniret fides, sub Lege custodiebamur, conclusi sub fidem, quae revelanda erat.
24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
24. Itaque Lex paedagogus noster fuit in Christum, ut ex fide justificaremur.
25. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
25. Adveniente autem fide, non amplius sub paedagogo sumus.
26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
26. Nam omnes filii Dei estis per fidem in Christo Iesu.
27. For as many of yo…
Paul contrasts the condition of God’s people under the law before Christ with their condition now under Christ.
3:23 Because sin had imprisoned us (3:22), the law was a guard, keeping God’s people in protective custody . . . until the way of faith in Christ was revealed. It made God’s requirements explicit, and thus highlights the need for a Savior. The law also restrains sin by making the consequences of sin explicit.
