(God’s promise to *Abraham has not changed)
Bible verses: Galatians 3:15-20
A word list at the end of each Bible study explains words that have a *star by them. These are more difficult words.
Introduction
Paul is writing to Christians who wanted to obey the old *Jewish rules. He repeats what he has said already about these rules. And now Paul gives his reasons again.
Before Christ came, *people needed rules. The rules showed *people what was wrong. They could not always do what was right. The rules made this clear. There was a wall between *people and God.
The rules were very important until God’s promise to *Abraham became true. This translation tells about ‘*Abraham’s one special grandson’. This person was Christ. Now Christ has come and we do not need rules to become right with God. Only Christ can do this for us.
Questions
V 15 ~ What happens when two *people make a proper *agreement?
V16 ~ God made a great promise to *Abraham. Who was this promise about?
V17 ~ God will do what he has said. How can we know this?
V17 ~ Which came first, God’s promise to *Abraham or the rules?
What might this suggest about God?
V18 ~ Why can we all receive what God gives to his children?
V19 ~ What does Paul say that the rules did?
V20 ~ When God gave the rules, Moses was the leader of the *Jews. Moses was between God and the *people. Do we need someone like Moses today?
Something to do
Make a list of groups that have rules. Think about why these groups need rules. Do *people always obey the rules? What might this show about what *people do? Think about the whole subject.
‘We can receive what God gives to his children’. (V13) Talk about who ‘we’ are.
Talk about what we learn about God’s promises. Make a list of other promises of God that you know. (You could start with John 6;37; Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:38-39.)
Words to explain
Abraham ~ The first leader of the Jews.
agreement ~ when two or more *people, or God and *people, agree about something.
Israel ~ the country where the *Jews lived.
Jew ~ a person who is born from *Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children (*Israel’s *people).
Jewish ~ what belongs to a Jew.
people ~ men and women.
See the other studies in this series: Explore Paul’s letter to the Galatians.