The Fullness of Time, Part 2

Hey everybody!

Today we will continue our discussion of Galatians 4.  Through verse 3 Paul has been explaining to the Galatians how the Law had served as a guardian for thme, in the way that a man might appoint one of his slaves to be a guardian of his son until that son reaches maturity.  Now, Paul is going to explain Jesus sets us free from the Law, and we are no longer under the care of the guardian.  Here is Galatians 4:4-7:

4 But when the fullness of time came, God sent His son, born of a woman, and born under the law, 5 so that we might be set free from the law, so that we can receive our adoption as His children. 6 Since you are His children, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”  7 So you are no longer slaves, but children of God, and if you are His child, then God has also made you his heir. 

You may remeber that in the previous post we discuss Στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (stoicheia tou kosmou), the principles of the world.  This is what guided us until Jesus came into our lives.  So, Paul is saying that the world is just moving along, being guided by its own principles, then, in verse 4, in the fullness of time, Jesus came. Paul has been making an analogy of the boy, who at the proper time, has a status change from boy to man, and is given the benefits of adulthood and receives his inheritance.  For us, Jesus came at the time set by God.  

Paul makes the point that he was born of a woman, just like the rest of us.  He also makes the point that Jesus was born under the Law.  Doulgas Moo makes the point here that in saying that God ‘sent’ his son indicates the pre-existence of Jesus, and the two qualifiers that Paul adds indicate that Jesus left God’s side to take on humanity and Jewishness.  (Moo, 265.) 

Back in Galatians 3:13, Paul talks about ‘the curse of the Law’ and how Jesus took on that curse for us.  Here, Jesus was willingly born under the curse of the Law, so that he could take on that curse for us. 

Jesus was born under the Law, and kept it in a way that we never could.  His ability to keep the Law, enabled him to free us from that Law. It follows, then, that his freeing us from the Law, in turn brings us to our maturity and enables us to receive our adoptions as children of God, and our inheritance, as well.   

In his commentary on 4:5, Thomas Schreiner makes an interesting point.  He says, “Paul constantly depicts the power of sin with the “under” phrases in Galatians.  Those who are “under law” (3:23, 4:4) are “under a curse” (3:10) and “under sin” (3:22) and “under a custodian” (3:25) and “under the elements” (4:3). Sin has placed people under its tyranny.” (Schreiner, 270.) 

Verse 5 tells us why Jesus was born of a woman, under the Law.  Paul uses the Greek word, Ἐξαγοράσῃ (exagorasē). The Lexicon defines this word: to secure the deliverance of, deliver, liberate.  It is often translated as 'redeem.'  I chose to translate it as ‘set free.”  The point here is that Jesus was sent to redeem or set free those who were under the law of sin.  Paul used the same word back in 3:13 to talk about how Jesus freed us from the curse of sin.  

What does all of the this mean? Jesus takes our punishment upon himself in his death on the Cross, freeing us from the power of sin, and opening the door for our adoption as children of God. Now, because of Jesus, we are His children, and because we are His children, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, and we are able to cry out God and call him 'Father.'  

An interesting sidenote: Paul does not call the Spirit, the "Holy Spirit" here, instead he says Πνεῦμα τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ (pneuma tou huiou autou) “Spirit of His Son.”  It indicates the closeness of these three, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, as such phrases can be used so interchangeably.  The presence of the Spirit authenticates and verifies our relationship as God’s children, and by extension, an heir to His promise. 

       Douglas Moo, Galatians, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2013.

        Thomas Schriener, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians, Zondervan Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2010. 

The Fullness of Time

 Greetings.

In my last post, we finished on Galatians 3, so, today we begin chapter 4.  Paul has been talking how the Law served as a guardian, but now, in Christ, the guardian is no longer needed.  In the early of chapter 4, he explains what he is talking aobut further: 

1 Let me explain. When the heir is a child, even though everything belongs to him, he is essentially no different than a slave. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time that has been appointed by his father. 3 Just like when we were children, and we were held captive by the fundamental principles of the world. 

In these first few verses of chapter 4, Paul continues this thread about guardianship and does a compare and contrast of mankind’s condition under the Law (the guardian) with our condition under grace.  

In verses 1-3 he discusses our condition under the Law. He continues talking about the sons as heirs to everything, but at the same time, while they were still children, they had no real power.  As children, they had guardians and trustees, appointed by their fathers, who acted in their interest.  Upon coming of age, the sons would receive the full benefits of being master, even though he had been technically master all along.  

One certainly does not think of the future master as a slave, even though, as a child he is under authority like a slave. We should remember that Paul is saying all of this within the context of comparing the Promise and the Law. Underlying all of this is the idea that the Law makes us slaves, while the Promise offers us freedom and grace. 

The Law was the guardian. Then, at the fullness of time, the coming of Jesus, the Law ceases to be guardian.  We reach adulthood and receive the full benefits of being the heir.  

In verse 3, Paul seems to shift gears just a little bit.  He is talking to a largely Gentile audience in the churches in Galatia.  While the Jewish brothers had been under the guardianship of the Law, the Galatians, as Gentiles, had been largely under the guardianship of the world, and its principals.  They had been enslaved to its forces. Jesus had set them free from those forces, but now, the Judaizers were trying to bind a new slavery on them.

Paul uses the Greek phrase, Στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (stoicheia tou kosmou) Στοιχεῖα, according to the Lexicon can mean a number of things, 1) basic components of something, elements, 1a) heavenly bodies, 1b) fundamental principles, or 2) transcendent powers that are in control over events in this world, elemental spirits. τοῦ κόσμου translates to “of the world”, so together these translate to something along the line of “fundamental principles of the world.”  There are many different ideas about what Paul means by this phrase, but the one that makes the most sense to me is the idea that prior to knowing Christ we were all living under the basic principles of the world and therefore, guided by sin. 

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a letter about freedom, freedom from sin, as well as, freedom from the trappings of legalistic religion.  We are often held captive by one or the other, or both. Paul is spelling all of this out for them, as plainly as he can, so that they can escape the trappings of legalism and truly enjoy freedom in Christ.  

Family of God

 Hello everybody. 

We will pick up where we left off in Galatains 3.  This time, we examine verses 26-29: 

26 You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of us who have been baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 We are no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, since we all are now one in Christ Jesus. 29 So if you are in Christ, you are a descendant of Abraham, and, according to the promise, heirs. 

You may remember from the previous post that the Law was to serve as a παιδαγωγόν (paidagōgon), or guardian.  He tells in verse 25 by coming to faith in Jesus, we no longer need this guardian. Now, in verse 26 and following, we can see that since we are no longer under that guardian of the Law, we live by our faith and now are children of Abraham, whether Jew or Gentile. 

So, in Christ, we reach adulthood, and can receive the inheritance of God that His children receive.  Paul has been making the claim that we are children of God based on our faith rather than our heritage or our obedience to the Law.  In verse 27 he further explains this relationship.  He says, “For all of us who have been baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.” So then, all baptized believers have put on Jesus.  We are wrapped or enveloped in Christ. This is not the only time that Paul makes this comparison to clothing.  In Romans 13:14 he tells them to “put on Christ.”  In Colossians 3:9, he tells the church at Colassae to put off the old self, then in verses 12-14, he tells them, “as God’s chosen people” to put on a number of Christ-like attributes like compassion, kindness, humility and others.  

So what does this all mean?  As His children, we are to be Christ-like in our appearance, completely absorbed in Him. 

Douglas Moo makes reference to Isa. 61:10 here.  It says, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness.” (Moo, 252,)  It is an appropriate reference here, as in Galatians we are putting Christ when we are baptized, but really it is God that is doing all of the work here, clothing us and making us righteous.  

In verse 28 we see that because of the Promise and our faith in Jesus, we are now one in Christ. The barriers that separated us: ethnicity, socio-economic status, even gender, are gone.  We all share in the blessings and the inheritance of Abraham. 

Note:  Since women share in the promise in God’s kingdom, in that kingdom, they are no longer to be second class citizens, getting a full inheritance, just like their brothers.  

Paul says similar things in 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Colossians 3:11.  Galatians is the only one that includes male and female. All three passages contain opposite pairs and all start with the main opposite pair for how the Jews see the world:  Jew and Gentile. Paul’s point is similar in all three.  We are all part of one body, have one Spirit and all belong to the one Christ. 

In verse 29, Paul makes a concluding statement pulling the two big ideas together here, that, in Christ, we are: 1)  Children of Abraham, and 2) Heirs of the Promise. The point that Paul continues to make remains.  We belong to the family of God, not because of our obedience, but because of our faith. 

The Guardian

Greetings!

We have been looking at Galatians 3.  In the verses we saw how the law was necessary to show us our sinfulness, but now Paul is going to explain to us that the Law has served its purpose and something better (grace) has come.  Let's look at verses 23-35: 

23 Before faith came, we were held as prisoners, waiting for faith to be revealed. 24 The law was our guardian until Christ came, so that by faith we could be made righteous. 25 But now, having come to faith, we no longer need the Law as our guardian. 

In these three verses, Paul explains a little more about the purpose of the Law.  In verse 23, he explain how we were previously held as prisoners. If we tie that thought to verse 22, where we are all locked up under sin, we see that we were all prisoners of our own sin.  However, we were awaiting faith, so when Jesus was revealed, we could be liberated, and no longer had to be hald as prisoners.  

Verse 24 explains that the Law had served as our guardian until Jesus came.The word guardian comes from the Greek word παιδαγωγόν (paidagōgon). The Greek-English Lexicon tells us that this word refers to "a male guardian, usually a slave, that oversaw a boy to and from school and directed his conduct.  He was not a teacher, but more of a trainer and guide.  When the boy came of age, he no longer needed a guardian."  

So, Paul is saying that the Law trained us and guarded us until Christ came. Paul is not looking for the Galatians to have an overly negative view of the Law.  The Law had a purpose.  Paul’s point is neither positive or negative in regard to the Law.  He is showing them the Law’s temporary nature.  It served its purpose, as a guardian.  That purpose, however, was to lead us toward Jesus, and show us our need for him.  Now, that Jesus has come, and we can have faith in him, and the Law has served its purpose. In him, we can be made righteous, something that we cannot do on our own, no matter how obedient to the Law we are. 

Here is a thought.  The Law can teach us morality, but it does not and cannot transform our hearts.  It tells us what sin is, but we continue to sin.  True transformation comes through faith in Jesus, not through the Law. Verse 25, then tells that now since we have come to faith, we no longer need the guardian.  

We can see our sinfulness, thanks to the Law, but now in faith, we come of age.  We no longer need the guardian. The Law has served its purpose, but that purpose is temporary.  Now, we walk by faith. 

Life-giving

Greetings everyone.

Today we will continue our examination of Galatians 3, moving into 21-22. Here is my translation:

21 So then, is the law opposed to the promises of God? Of course not! If the Law really had the ability to give life, then righteousness would also come from the Law.  22 However, the Scripture locked everything up under sin, so that the promises of faith in Jesus Christ might be given to the faithful.

Paul has just asked in verse, "Why have the Law""  Now, he asks another question that would naturally follow from his line of reasoning.  “Is the Law opposed to the promises of God?” This question makes sense, as Paul has been consistently showing the Law to be inferior to God’s promises.  

Paul’s answer: Μὴ γένοιτο (mē genoito) meaning 'May it never be.'  Paul is emphatically stating that the Law and the Promise are not opposed to each other.  I translated this as “Of course not!”  Both the Law and the Promise came from God, and Paul rejects the idea that they are at odds with each other.  He has been making the case that the Law existed for a time and for a purpose, but Jesus brought that to an end, and now faith in Jesus and acceptance of God’s grace is the path toward God.

The Law has value.  It shows us God’s holiness, and that doesn’t change under grace.  It also shows us our inability to measure up, and that also doesn’t change under grace. But under grace our inability to measure up does not condemn us.  We are fortunate to live under God's grace.

Paul’s response here could indicate that these Judaizers were holding up the Law as something that was life-giving.  Paul tells us that the Law was not life-giving and therefore could never lead us to righteousness.  The point has already been made that the Law functions to expose us as sinners,=. Being exposed as sinful, is certainly not life-giving. Discouraging is more like what that does. John Stott says, “Turning hypothesis to reality, the fact is that nobody has ever kept the law of God.  Instead, we sinners break it every day.  Therefore, the law cannot justify us,” (Stott, 91.)  Stott is right.  Law-keeping is not a real path to justification (or life), when that law is impossible to keep. 

Certainly my own experience of trying to keep all of the rules has led to self-doubt and discouragement rather than life, because I am just not able to live up to that standard.  Paul's statement, in my view, is 100% correct. The Law is not life-giving.  However, God’s grace is. 

Then in verse 22, Paul tells us that what it does do, is it locks everything up under sin.  The Greek word he uses is συνέκλεισεν (sunekgeisen), from the Greek verb συγκλείω (sugkleio). It means to shut up together or enclose.  What does Paul mean by this?  Moo says “The demands of the Law, because they are ultimately impossible for sinful humans to fulfill, serve to ‘confine’ all things under sin.” (Moo, 239.)So, we see can what the Law does compared to what the Law doesn’t do:  It shows us our sinfulness, but it does not give us life or make us righteous.  

It is true that we do need to see our sinfulness, so the Law does serve its purpose, but fortunately the promise supersedes the Law and allows us to have what we really need, God’s life-giving grace. 

Paul follows his phrase about everything being confined or locked up under sin with a statement about faith.  There is a reason for it, so that then the promises of faith could be given to those who are faithful. God works through “the imprisoning and condemning effects of Scripture to accomplish his ultimate purpose.”  (Moo, 240.)  Again, we see that the Law was necessary to show us our sinfulness, in order to understand the greatness of God’s promise, the promise that He gave to Abraham and that he now extends to us.  

Moo quotes what John Calvin has to say here.  “This sentence is full of the highest consolation.  It tells that, whenever we hear ourselves condemned in Scripture, there is help provided for us in Christ, if we betake ourselves to him.”  (Moo, 240.) Calvin’s thoughts help to clarify.  Sometimes we feel condemned by the Scriptures, but our faith in Jesus should in those moments bring us hope.  The promise is made to the faithful, not to the obedient.