Galatians 3:20 says that a mediator belongs to more than one party, while God is one. Paul is making a point about how God’s promise to Abraham was given: God acted alone and directly, without a go-between standing in the middle. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the churches of Galatia, and this verse is part of a longer argument about whether the law given through Moses replaces the promise God made to Abraham.
Now a mediator is not between one, but God is one.
Galatians 3:20 (WEB)
What Galatians 3:20 Means
Paul begins with the idea of a mediator, someone who stands between two sides to set up or carry out an agreement. A mediator, in the sense Paul has in mind, works between parties who each have a part to play. The word “one” is the key contrast: a mediator implies at least two parties, but the promise to Abraham was spoken by God alone, with nothing added on the human side to make it valid.
The verse does not say that God is distant or that Christ is unnecessary. Paul elsewhere calls Christ the mediator of the new covenant, so the point here is narrower. In the case of the promise, God is the one who gives it and keeps it. The verse does not promise that every relationship with God is free of human responsibility, and it does not settle every question about the role of the law. It makes one claim: the promise rests on God’s own word and faithfulness.
The Context of Galatians 3:20
Galatians was written by Paul to Gentile and Jewish believers in Galatia who were being pressed to add circumcision and the requirements of the Mosaic law to faith in Christ. Paul’s concern is that they not turn away from the gospel of grace. In the verses just before this one, he argues that the promise to Abraham, given four hundred thirty years before the law, cannot be cancelled or made conditional by the law that came later.
The verses that follow in verses 21 through 23 explain that the law did not give life and was never meant to replace the promise. It served to show human sin and to hold people in custody until faith in Christ was revealed. Read in that setting, verse 20 is one step in a chain of reasoning: since God acted alone in the promise, the inheritance comes by promise and not by law.
Key Phrases in Galatians 3:20
Romans 4:13
For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he should be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
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Paul returns to the promise made to Abraham and explains that the inheritance came through righteousness by faith, not through the law. This verse helps show how the promise and the law relate, which is the same concern behind Galatians 3:20.
Hebrews 6:17-18
17 In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.
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The writer of Hebrews speaks of God confirming his promise with an oath so that his purpose would be unchanging. The passage echoes the idea in Galatians 3:20 that God’s promise rests on his own steadfast character.
A Short Prayer From Galatians 3:20
Father, thank you that your promises do not depend on my ability to hold them together. You spoke, and you are faithful to keep your word. When I feel unsure whether you will follow through, remind me that the promise rests on you and not on my performance. Help me to rest in your faithfulness today and to trust that you are at work in what you have promised. Amen.
