What does it mean that the law was our guardian until Christ came?

Explanation:

Paul says that the law was a παιδαγωγὸς until Christ. While we might simply translate the term παιδαγωγός as guardian, the term carries more nuance and significance. In ancient times, some households had a παιδαγωγός. The παιδαγωγός was normally a slave who oversaw young boys until they reached an age of maturity. The παιδαγωγός supervised and corrected a boy’s conduct through disciplinary action, and made sure young boys made it to their teachers and followed through on their chores.⁴ The παιδαγωγός was not himself a teacher, but more of a temporary custodian. When a boy reached an age of maturity such that he had learned from his teachers and was able to carry out his responsibilities, he was released from the παιδαγωγός.⁵

Given the ancient understanding of a παιδαγωγός, we can see what Paul means when he calls the law a παιδαγωγός. The point is not that the law functioned positively in the life of Israel as a teacher, but that it functioned in a supervisory/disciplinary role.⁶ Further, just as a παιδαγωγός was only in the life of the child for a time, so the law was a temporary measure in salvation history until Christ.⁷

Counterargument:

By characterizing the law as a παιδαγωγός (guardian) Paul implies that the law not only was a supervisor but also helped Israel develop and mature (see interpretation 2).⁸ This becomes especially true when we consider the meaning of the phrase until Christ. The above view takes until Christ in a temporal sense, in that the law was a guardian until Christ came. The preposition behind until (εἰς) can also be taken in a purposive sense.⁹ In other words, the law was a παιδαγωγός for the purpose of bringing one to Christ. In this sense the law positively prepared Israel for Christ.

Response to counterargument:

There are two problems with this counterargument. First, if the law prepared Israel for Christ, then it is hard to see why Paul would be so negative regarding the law in this letter to the Galatians (see interpretation 2 for more details). Further, we are prohibited from taking εἰς in a purposive rather than temporal sense by the conjunction therefore that introduces Galatians 3:24. Since Paul introduces Galatians 3:24 with this conjunction, we can detect that it is connected to Galatians 3:23. In Galatians 3:23 he clearly explains that we were held captive by the law until the coming faith was revealed, therefore the law was our guardian until Christ came. So, while it is possible for εἰς to be taken in a purposive sense, in the context we are obliged to take it in a temporal sense.¹⁰

Explanation:

We know that the term παιδαγωγός (guardian) had a special meaning in Paul’s ancient context, so we could deduce that the law played a supervisory/disciplinary role in the life of Israel until Christ. Still, it is not yet clear what kind of supervisory role the law played. Did it act as a παιδαγωγός by separating Israel from the Gentiles?¹¹ Or did the law help Israel develop and mature?¹² From the broader context of Galatians, we can deduce that the law limited the freedom of the Israelites to protect them from sinning.¹³ In other words, the Israelites, like all humanity, are by nature sinful. So, God put the law in place to constrain Israel’s behaviour from sin until Christ. We can see that this is Paul’s meaning because in Galatians 3:19 he says that the law was added because of transgressions. He then explains in Galatians 3:22 that the Scripture, that is, the word of the law, imprisoned all things under sin. In other words, because of Israel’s sinful behaviour, God gave her his law to restrain them. Like an effective παιδαγωγός, the law restricted Israel from willful sin by showing her that her behaviour was offensive to God.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that if God gave the law to Israel to restrict their behaviour, then it seems that the law could justify one before God. But Paul has repeatedly stated that the law cannot justify a person before God (Galatians 2:16; Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:11). In other words, the law would restrict a person’s behaviour such that he was no longer acting as he pleased, but his actions were kept under control so that his actions aligned with the law. Of course, if his actions aligned with the law, he would be aligned with God’s will, and therefore justified before God. Since Paul rules out the possibility that a person is justified before God through the law, it cannot be that the law is a παιδαγωγός in the sense that the law restricted Israel’s behaviour.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument misunderstands the purpose of the παιδαγωγός (guardian). The παιδαγωγός is not a teacher who could help the young boy grow in his education. Rather, it was a constant companion who showed the child when he was straying from the correct path.¹⁴ Thus, by characterizing the law as a παιδαγωγός, Paul is not saying that the law could train Israel into moral maturity. Rather, he is saying that the law continually pointed out Israel’s faults. That is why Paul says that all who rely on the works of the law are cursed (Galatians 3:10), because the law does not enable one to keep the law. Rather, the law is a standard that reflects God’s perfection, and it is simply a necessary truth that sinful humans cannot maintain the law.

It is difficult to see what the weakness of this view might be. The fact is that God gave the laws to Israel because of sin, but the laws could make no one righteous. The notion that the laws are a παιδαγωγός (guardian) in the sense that they supervised and disciplined Israel without enabling her to grow fits the context of Galatians and helps make sense of the purpose of the law.

Explanation:

We know from the ancient context that a παιδαγωγός (guardian) protected and guarded a youth until he grew up and matured. Thus, we should deduce that the law operated similarly. This implies that the law was in place to protect Israel from an evil world until she matured. Once Israel grew up, she no longer required the protection and restrictions of the law so that the rules that governed Israel could be removed. In this way, we can think of the law as a stepping stone to faith.¹⁵

Counterargument:

The problem with this view is that it implies that Israel was growing in her righteousness until Christ. We know that the law was put in place because of transgression (Galatians 3:19), so the law was given because of unrighteousness. Thus, if Israel matured to the point where the law was no longer necessary, this implies that the transgressions or unrighteousness of Israel had diminished such that the restrictions of the law could be done away with. The problem is that Paul says the opposite. He explains that if a law had been given that could make alive, righteousness would be through the law (Galatians 3:21). Further, he explains that until faith came, the Israelites were held prisoner under the law.

Of course, if the law did not help Israel grow in righteousness, what mechanism enabled her to mature so that she no longer needed the law? Unfortunately for this view, Scripture provides no other means. Thus, the law confined Israel as a παιδαγωγός (guardian), but not until she matured. Rather, the law confined Israel until Christ came (Galatians 3:24).

Explanation:

The term παιδαγωγός (guardian) is a specialized term that refers to a slave who was charged with watching over a boy as he matured in his youth. The term is only used three times in the New Testament, all by Paul, and two of those occasions are found in Galatians 3:24–25. The third use of the term comes from 1 Corinthians 4:15, and when we consider Paul’s use of guardian in the context of 1 Corinthians, it informs his meaning in Galatians 3:24.¹⁶ So how does Paul use the term παιδαγωγός (guardian) in 1 Corinthians 4:15?

There Paul explains that the Corinthians had many guardians in Christ, but not many fathers. He then explains that he became the Corinthians’ father through the gospel. His point is that, while there were many who supervised and protected the Corinthians as they grew in their faith in Christ, Paul was more than a guardian; he was a father.

That Paul contrasts the guardian with father informs what he means in Galatians 3:24. There he says that the law was in place as a guardian until Christ. Likely he means that there is a contrast between the law and faith. The law is like the guardians who helped the Galatians mature in their faith, while the promise to Abraham, and faith, are like a father.¹⁷ Thus, the law helped the Israelites mature, but only until Christ.

Counterargument:

When we determine the meaning of a term, we must understand how the author uses the term in the original context. In the case of 1 Corinthians 4:15 Paul uses the term παιδαγωγός (guardian) to contrast himself as a father to the Corinthians. On the other hand, in Galatians 3:24 Paul does not contrast the παιδαγωγός (guardian) with anything. Rather, he simply explains that the παιδαγωγός was in place until Christ, and now that Christ was come, the Israelites are no longer under a παιδαγωγός. There is no indication from Paul in Galatians 3:24 that his use of παιδαγωγός is anything like his contrasting in 1 Corinthians 4:15 the παιδαγωγός with himself as a father. Rather, based on the ancient role of the παιδαγωγός in a household, he seems to use it as a fitting title for the law, which acted in a temporary supervisory/disciplinary role until Christ.

The problem with this view is that it presses the term παιδαγωγός (guardian) for a meaning that goes against Paul’s intention. When we refer to something with a specialized term, we are not committed to every nuance the term entails. For example, if we call a pastor a shepherd, we are not committed to the notion that the pastor wakes up before dawn and travels much throughout the day. Rather, we are committed to what an author wants us to understand when he characterizes a pastor as a shepherd. For example, one might call a pastor a shepherd because he cares for his congregation in a gentle, loving manner. Similarly, when Paul calls the law a παιδαγωγός we cannot import every aspect of the meaning of the παιδαγωγός onto the law. Rather, we must consider why Paul used that term and what he intended to capture by saying that the law was a παιδαγωγός. Since Paul clearly explains that the law made no one righteous, we should not think that the law enabled Israel to mature, or that faith came once Israel had matured.