Gal 3:20 - Is God Really "One?"
Posted July 1, 2009
Hello Mike,
A few months ago I was drawn to the IWWB website. Since then I have read all of the articles on your site and whenever possible I watch your live bible study. Your excellent articles have explained most of the scriptures that I had previously had difficulty in understanding. I offer my heartfelt thanks to you and all of the IWWB team for helping me to understand God's Word. The understanding that you have given me has completely changed my life for the better.
One of the scriptures that I still do not fully understand is:Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.I have read several commentaries on this verse but none of the explanations seem satisfactory to me. James Burton Coffman in his commentary on the New Testament states:
This writer will spare the reader any exegesis of this verse. The full or even approximate meaning of it is unknown; and as proof of that, it must be pointed out that Huxtable said there are literally hundreds of interpretations; McGarvey said, "This verse has been interpreted in more than three hundred ways; and Ridderbos declared that "There are four hundred and thirty interpretations of Gal. 3:20." It only remains to be added that this writer has never seen an interpretation of it that is wholly satisfactory.I know that you are very busy, but I shall be very pleased if you can find the time to explain this verse to me. I apologize if you have covered this verse in one of your articles and I have missed it.
Thank you again,
J____
Hi J____,
Thank you for your encouraging words. It is gratifying to know you are being edified by what you are reading.
You ask about the meaning of Gal 3:20.
Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Until that time, the gist of Paul's point is that God is one, and He is not satisfied with our feeble attempts at keeping the law of Moses or any attempt to earn our own salvation. "God is one," but a mediator mediates between two. We are the 'other party' involved in the need for a mediator, and the only solution for our differences with God is the faith of our mediator, Christ.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, ["God is one"] and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
The only problem for the commentators, as far as this verse is concerned, is their faith in the false doctrine of the trinity. Please read Is God A Trinity on iswasandwillbe.com.
I hope this has answered your concerns. If not please let me know.
Your brother in Christ,