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Galatians 3:19-20
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
Who is the (singular) intermediary referred to here?
Moses? The angel of the Lord? Who?
The word “mediator” literally means to be in the middle or midst. It is “‘one who mediates’ between two parties with a view to producing peace” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary). Moses was the mediator God used to make the Old Testament covenant of Law between Himself and the Jews. In the New Testament, Jesus is the mediator between God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5)
Jesus is the New Testament mediator between God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5). There are some sharp contrasts between the mediation of Jesus in the N.T. and that of Moses in the Old Testament Law. First, Moses was only a man and was therefore limited in his ability to adequately represent God. However, Jesus was uniquely God and man (1 Timothy 3:16); therefore, He was a perfect mediator, knowing by experience both sides of the issue.
Second, Jesus did what Moses could not do. He went beyond mediation to actually become the sacrifice that would satisfy the justice of the one party (God) by bearing the sins of the other party (mankind). When Jesus rose from the dead, He (the mediator) also became the guarantor that His settlement would work. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
What did Paul mean here? A mediator mediates between two parties who are in conflict with each other. Therefore, by using the statement “a mediator is not a mediator of one,” he was saying that mediators don’t settle disputes among themselves–they are the go-between for two other parties.
However, the mediation of Jesus was very unique. Jesus was God and mankind at the same time. Therefore, He was reconciling Himself (His humanity and all His children by faith) to Himself (His divinity; i.e., His Father). This is what Paul referred to when he said, “But God is one.”
Yes, this intermediary or mediator is Moses whom Paul is referring to. Paul is talking about the Law and as a former Pharisee, he was well versed in the Law given by Moses.
The study note for verse 19 in the New World Translation explains who this mediator is and the meaning of the word:
The unnamed mediator was Moses. He acted as the intermediary between Jehovah and the nation of Israel for establishing a covenant, or a legally binding agreement, between God and the nation. (See Glossary, “Mediator.”) The Greek word me·siʹtes, translated “mediator,” occurs six times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. (Ga 3:19, 20; 1Ti 2:5; Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) It is a legal term. According to one lexicon, it means “one who intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and friendship, or to form a compact [that is, an agreement], or for ratifying a covenant.” In mediating the Law covenant, Moses helped the nation of Israel to keep the covenant and to receive its benefits. For example, Moses officiated at the inauguration of the covenant. (Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:18-22) He installed the priests and put the work of the priesthood into operation. (Le 8:1-36; Heb 7:11) He also conveyed a body of more than 600 laws to the Israelites and pleaded that Jehovah spare them from punishment.—Nu 16:20-22; 21:7; De 9:18-20, 25-29.
[All scripture quotations from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)]
Note the difficulties of Gal 3:20 as pointed out by Barnes:
Now a mediator is not a mediator of one ... - This verse has given great perplexity to commentators. "There is, unquestionably," says Bloomfield, "no passage in the New Testament that has so much, and to so little purpose, exercised the learning and ingenuity of commentators as the present, which seems to defy all attempts to elicit any satisfactory sense, except by methods so violent as to be almost the same thing as writing the passage afresh." In regard, however, to the truth of the declarations here - that "a mediator is not a mediator of one," and that "God is one" - there can be no doubt, and no difficulty. The very idea of a mediator supposes that there are two parties or persons between whom the mediator comes either to reconcile them or to bear some message from the one to the other; and it is abundantly affirmed also in the Old Testament that there is but one God; see Deuteronomy 6:4.
The difficulty here can be summed up by observing two apparently contradictory facts:
As the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary observes:
For Jesus is not a mediator separating the two parties in the covenant of promise or grace, as Moses did, but One in both nature and office with both God and man (compare "God in Christ," Ga 3:17): representing the whole universal manhood (1Co 15:22, 45, 47), and also bearing in Him "all the fullness of the Godhead."
Thus, God deals with mankind directly through a "mediator", Jesus, but God is one! (Gal 3:20).
Who is the intermediary in Gal 3:19-20
Galatians 3:19-20 NASB
19 Why the Law then? It was added on account of the [a]violations, having been ordered through angels at the hand of a [b]mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made.
It is a well-known fact that the mediator between God and the nation of Israel was Moses. The Law Covenant given to Moses required two parties, the nation of Israel and God, the Israelites agreed to the terms and conditions of the Covenant.
The Israelites promised to keep all the words which God has spoken.
Exodus 24:3-8 NASB
3 Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the Lord and all the [a]ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar [b]at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it [c]as the people listened; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has [d]made with you [e]in accordance with all these words.”
20 Now a mediator is not for one party only, but God is only one.
Now there is no mediator for one party because God is the only party to the promise. Paul here is actually referring to the promise made to Abraham in which promise/covenant there were no conditions for Abraham to fulfill. God made this promise/covenant and it was up to him to fulfill it.
Galatians 3:18 NASB
18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
We should refer to the context of the passage to see what Paul is expanding on here.
Paul is contrasting the law and faith - the physical and spiritual.
Paul asks - why the law then? Is it contrary to God's promises? Of course not!
The law was given through the mediator - Moses, but it could not impart life v21 The promises however can and will impart life - through the seed of Abraham - Jesus the Christ.
The law required a mediator - someone to arbitrate and represent each party - God and the Israelites. A promise requires no mediator - or it would not be a promise. God is the one who promised through Abraham to - all who would have faith. No agreement was made with Abraham for the promise - God will do what He said He would - to His glory.
In Christ, all have by faith, a relationship with God in righteousness - not theirs, but Christ's.
Those NOT yet in Christ, still require a mediator - they are still under the law and have not been set free from death. 'Mankind', is not referring to those of faith.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 1Tim 2:5
How was the law put in place? Through Moses - the mediator for Israel.
The mediator on behalf of Israel is Moses.
Brice Martin writes in Christ and the Law in Paul (2.3) that the phrase "in the hand of a mediator" recalls the recurring phrase "in the hand of Moses",
In modern times the mediator has almost universally been understood to be Moses. Many of the ancient church Fathers, however, understood it to be Christ. C. H. Cosgrove has argued that the mediator is so closely associated with angels that it is more easy to think of the angels’ mediator than Israel’s mediator. But it seems evident that the mediator must be Moses. En cheiri mesitou recalls en cheiri Mouseos in the LXX (Lev 26:46; Num 4:37, 41, 45 etc.) at the giving of the law. Bruce observes that Moses was the Israelites’ mediator with God throughout the wilderness wanderings and at Deut 5:5 he says "I stood between (ana meson) Yahweh and you."
[..] The context makes good sense if Moses mediated the law, if an agreement was made between God and the people of Israel on how the law was to be kept. But with reference to the promise, "God is one" in the sense that he acted unilaterally and unconditionally.12 The natural question would then be, "is the (mediated) law opposed to the (unmediated) promise (3:21)?
The phrase "en kheiri Mouses" (in hand of Moses) is a common phrase in the Scripture, Lev 26:46 Num 4:37 Num 4:41 Num 4:45 Num 4:49 Num 9:23 Num 10:13 Num 15:23 Num 16:40 Num 33:1 Num 36:13.
