Grace in Galatians (Part 95): What God Did 430 Years Before The Law

https://youtu.be/HgSaqFcTTcI

Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

Key scriptures for this year:

(2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT)

"Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do."

(Galatians 5:4 TPT)

"If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!"

(Romans 6:14 ERV)

"Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God's grace."

(1 Corinthians 15:10 CEV)

"But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's grace at work and not me."

Scripture we will study today:

(Galatians 3:17 TPT)

“Let me say it in plain language. The promise-covenant that God established with Abraham was fulfilled in Christ and cannot be set aside or have new conditions attached by a law that came four hundred and thirty years later.”

Supporting scriptures:

(Genesis 15:6 TPT)

“And because Abram trusted God to fulfill his promise, God credited that faith to him as righteousness.”

(Romans 8:1 TPT)

“And because Abram trusted God to fulfill his promise, God credited that faith to him as righteousness.”

(Romans 4:16 TPT)

“So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the Law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.”

(Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

(Hebrews 6:17-18 TPT)

“That’s why God added his vow to the promise. So now we who have run to God for safety will be greatly encouraged to seize the hope that is set before us, since he took an oath in his own name. For God wanted to make it perfectly clear that his purpose for those who inherited his promise was unchangeable.”

Setting the Stage:

Yesterday, we looked at how the Law cannot cancel what grace established. Today, I want you to discover what God actually DID 430 years before He gave the Law to Moses! This isn’t just about timing; it’s about PRIORITY! What God did FIRST reveals what God values MOST!

Here’s what God did: He made a PROMISE to Abraham based purely on grace and faith. No conditions. No performance requirements. No religious obligations. Just BELIEVE and RECEIVE! God said, “I will bless you,” and Abraham believed Him, and God counted that faith as righteousness. That’s it! That’s the original system! That’s God’s Plan A!

Then, 430 years later, God gave the Law through Moses. But here’s the key: the Law didn’t change, cancel, or add conditions to what God had already established by promise! For over four centuries, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and multiple generations experienced God’s blessing through FAITH ALONE! They had no written Law, no Ten Commandments, no religious system; they just had God’s PROMISE and their FAITH in that promise!

What God did 430 years before the Law proves beyond any doubt that GRACE is His primary method, His first choice, His preferred system for relating to humanity! When you understand what God did first, it changes everything about how you approach Him today!

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. What God Did First: He Made Grace His Primary Plan, Not His Backup Plan.

Many believers think grace is God’s backup plan, that He originally wanted to relate to us through the Law but switched to grace when we couldn’t keep the Law. But that’s BACKWARDS! Grace came FIRST! For 430 years, God related to His people through grace and faith! The promise-covenant to Abraham operated for over four centuries BEFORE a single commandment was written! This proves grace isn’t Plan B; grace is Plan A! Law was temporary. Grace is eternal!

How this applies to you:

— You’re not living under God’s second-choice system; you’re living under His FIRST choice, His ORIGINAL intent! Before there was ever a tablet of stone with commandments, there was a covenant of promise based on grace and faith.

— God didn’t reluctantly switch to grace because the Law didn’t work; God always intended for grace to be primary! Grace isn’t God settling for less. Grace is God revealing His HEART!

— This means grace is not a New Testament add-on; it’s the OLD Testament foundation! Before Moses, before the Ten Commandments, before ANY religious system, there was Abraham simply BELIEVING God and having that faith counted as righteousness.

— For 430 years, multiple generations lived by faith without the Law and still experienced God’s favor, His presence, His provision, and His power! If they could live blessed lives before the Law was given, you can certainly live a blessed life NOW that Christ has fulfilled the Law!

— When you understand that grace is Plan A, you stop apologizing for living by grace! You don’t have to feel guilty for not being under the Law. You don’t have to wonder if you’re taking the “easy way out.”

— This changes how you wake up every single morning! You don’t start your day trying to convince God to bless you through your performance. You start your day KNOWING you’re already living under the same grace system that blessed Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph for over four centuries! What worked for them works for you TODAY!

Enter this day living #TheGraceLife!

2. What God Did Legally: He Bound Himself to Bless You Unconditionally.

Paul says the promise-covenant “cannot be set aside.” When God made His promise to Abraham, He didn’t just make a casual statement; He entered into a BINDING COVENANT! And in that covenant, God didn’t require Abraham to keep conditions; God bound HIMSELF with an oath! Hebrews 6 tells us God swore by HIMSELF because there was no one greater! This means YOUR blessing isn’t dependent on your performance; it’s dependent on GOD’S OATH!

How this applies to you:

— God staked His own integrity on blessing you through Christ! When God made the promise to Abraham, He put His own name, character, and reputation on the line. Your blessing is as secure as God’s Word and His name!

— You’re under a covenant that CANNOT be broken, not even by your failures! The Law-covenant? Israel broke it constantly because it depended on human performance. The promise-covenant? UNBREAKABLE because it depends on God’s faithfulness! You can’t violate what God secured with His own oath! 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” When you fail, the covenant stands. When you fall, God’s promise remains. Your weakness doesn’t cancel His Word! His faithfulness isn’t based on your faithfulness; it’s based on His unchangeable nature!

— This is why Paul says the Law “cannot set aside” the promise! You can’t nullify a binding covenant (that God vowed to keep Himself) by introducing new terms centuries later. The original agreement stands, and it was based on GRACE!

— Your access to God’s blessing is not negotiable or conditional once you’re in Christ! Religious people will try to add requirements, conditions, and obligations. But the covenant God established says your blessing comes by PROMISE, not by performance!

— When you mess up, the covenant doesn’t change! That’s the beauty of a promise-covenant versus a Law-covenant. Under the Law, your failure means judgment. Under promise, your failure is covered by God’s grace, and the covenant stands!

— Stand on this truth: God cannot lie, cannot fail, and cannot break His oath to bless you in Christ! Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man that He should lie. When He makes a promise, He keeps it! The blessing of the Lord on your life is GUARANTEED by God’s very own unchangeable nature!

3. What God Did NOT Do: He Never Required You to Earn What He Freely Gave.

Paul emphasizes that new conditions cannot be “attached” to the promise. Yet this is exactly what religion does! It takes what God freely gave by grace and turns it into something you must earn by works. The Judaizers were saying, “Yes, you need Christ, BUT you also need circumcision and Law-keeping.” Today’s version says, “Yes, you have Christ, BUT you also need to prove yourself, measure up, and constantly strive to maintain God’s favor.” This is DECEPTION! It’s adding conditions to what God gave unconditionally!

How this applies to you:

— Any teaching that adds “Yes, BUT” to the gospel of grace is false doctrine! The moment someone says you need Jesus PLUS their program, their method, their tradition, or their approval, they’re attaching conditions to what God gave freely!

— The enemy’s strategy is always to get you working FOR what you already HAVE! Satan can’t steal your salvation, but he can steal your joy and peace by convincing you that you must constantly earn what Christ already provided!

— Religious performance creates an exhausting treadmill where you’re never quite good enough! You pray, but wonder if you prayed long enough. You give, but wonder if you gave enough. You serve, but wonder if you served with pure enough motives. This is BONDAGE, not freedom!

— Grace says, “It is FINISHED!” Religion says, “You’re not FINISHED yet!” Which voice are you listening to? Jesus declared the work COMPLETE. Religion keeps telling you there’s more work to be done. Who’s right: Jesus or religion?

— Stop measuring your worthiness to receive what God freely gave! You didn’t earn it by your goodness, and you won’t maintain it by your efforts. It’s a GIFT! Gifts aren’t earned; they’re RECEIVED!

— The most subtle deception is making you feel guilty for resting in grace! Religion will make you feel like you’re being lazy, taking advantage of God, or lowering the standard when you simply rest in Christ’s finished work. But RESTING is the highest form of FAITH!

— What I have learned since I have embraced #TheGraceLife, is that once you stop striving and start resting, you will actually open up your heart to God’s grace to the point where you wind up working harder than you ever have in your life. But here’s the kicker: IT’S NOT YOU DOING IT! It’s the grace of God through you!

4. What God Did Through Christ: He Fulfilled Every Condition So You Could Rest.

Paul concludes by saying the promise-covenant “was fulfilled in Christ.” This is the ULTIMATE truth! Every condition that needed to be met was met BY JESUS! Every requirement that needed to be satisfied was satisfied BY JESUS! Every obligation that needed to be fulfilled was fulfilled BY JESUS! And since HIS work is FINISHED, YOUR striving can STOP! He did it ALL so you can REST in ALL!

How this applies to you:

— Christ’s perfect obedience covers your imperfect obedience! Under the Law, your performance had to be perfect. Under grace, HIS performance WAS perfect, and His perfection is credited to your account by faith!

— You’re not working FOR acceptance; you’re working FROM acceptance! Everything you do flows from the security of knowing you’re already accepted, already approved, already qualified through Christ! You are God’s beloved!

— The pressure is OFF because the work is DONE! This doesn’t make you lazy; it makes you FREE! Free people are the most productive people in God’s Kingdom because they’re not working from insecurity or fear; they’re working from love and gratitude!

— Your best effort couldn’t add to what Christ already accomplished! And your worst failure can’t subtract from it either! His finished work is SUFFICIENT. It’s ENOUGH. It’s COMPLETE!

— Living by grace means you wake up blessed, not trying to GET blessed! You don’t start your day wondering if you’ll do enough to earn God’s favor. You start your day KNOWING you already HAVE His favor because you’re IN CHRIST!

— I will close with a personal point that I believe drives home this message. Back when I lived under the bondage of believing that I needed to perform and that I was at risk of losing my salvation if I did not measure up, I tried to serve God, but I was so focused on my humanity that I was not open to God’s divinity. As a result, I was never used by God to do anything significant for several reasons:

1) I did not see myself as worthy,

2) I was so focused on being good that I was not open to being used, and

3) Since my faith was tied to my performance, I could never believe on the level that 

God wanted to use me, because I am simply not that good.

But the moment I understood grace, everything changed! When I stopped trying to BE good enough and started RESTING in Christ’s goodness, God began using me in ways I never imagined! That’s the power of understanding what God did 430 years before the Law! I hope you embrace this revelation.

That's enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You for teaching me that grace was Your original design!

For 430 years before the Law, Your people lived by faith, and I live by faith today!

You legally bound Yourself by a covenant oath to bless me unconditionally through Christ!

No amount of human failure can break the promise You secured with Your own name!

I refuse every religious voice that tries to make me earn what You freely gave!

I reject the deception that adds “Yes, BUT” conditions to Your unconditional grace!

Jesus fulfilled EVERY condition, and I rest in His FINISHED work!

I am accepted, approved, and qualified IN CHRIST, not through my performance!

The pressure is OFF because the work is DONE, and I live in that rest today!

I am Living the Grace Life, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!