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. 

Law Vs. Promise

Greetings, everyone.

As we have been looking at Galatians 3, and Paul's arguments for the Promise made to Abraham as lasting, and the Law given to Moses as temporary. We will continue on now with verses 18-20.  In this passage, Paul asks what seems to be next obvious question:  If the Law is temporary, why have the Law at all?  Here is my translation:   

18 If the inheritance came from the Law, then it no longer came from the Promise, but God graciously gave Abraham a promise. 19 So then, why have the Law? The Law was added because of transgressions, until the one offspring should come, the one for whom the promise had been made, having been put in place by angels by the hand of an intermediary.  20 Now, an intermediary implies that more than one party is involved, but God is one. 

In verse 18, Paul begins talking about inheritance.  Being children of Abraham, we share in that inheritance. In Old Testament times, inheritance involved the land, becasue in an agricultural society, land is wealth.  Now, in this new paradigm, the inheritance is not land, but rather, it is Jesus, and all of the blessings that he provides.  So, as we continue, we will see more of Paul's contrast of The Promise and The Law. We see that The Promise supersedes the Law, and it is better, because the Promise brings Jesus and grace.  

In verse 18, Paul uses the Greek word κεχάρισται (kecharistai), a form of the word χαρίζομαι (charizomai), to talk about how God gave the Promise to Abraham.  Notice the resemblance to the Greek word for grace - χάρις (charis), the word for grace.   Κεχάρισται is often translated as “graciously given.”  God, in His grace, gave the promise to Abraham. So, the Promise is rooted in God’s grace.  Whereas, the Law is rooted in obedience.  

In verse 19, Paul goees ahead and asks the inevitable question, “If the Promise is binding, then why institute the Law?”  Then he answers it.  The Law was given because of transgressions.  In other words, the Law was given because we are, by nature, sinful.  The Law was necessary.  It had to be given, and very clearly plays a part in God’s redemptive plan. Without the Law we would not recognize our own sinfulness.  Without the Law showing us our inadequacies, would we recognize our need for God? In other words, the Law shows us our sinfulness, and therefore our need for God. 

The amount of transgressions that occur under the Law make it obvious that the Law is not the answer to our transgression problem. The Law certainly did show humanity's sinfulness, and it still does, but Paul makes the point that its function was to show this sinfulness until The One would come. The One, obviously Jesus, is the one of whom the Promise had been made.

Douglas Moo comments that throughout this series of verses Paul makes the case that the Law was in effect for a limited time and for a specific purpose. (Moo, 232.)  Later, when Paul writes the letter to the Romans, he says, “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” (Romans 7:12 NIV) Paul is not being anti-law.  He simply understood better than others the meaning and purpose of the Law.  He also understood our inability to live according to the Law, which makes God’s grace such important and fantastic news for us.  

The argument being made against Paul, a position held by many Jews of Paul's day, was that the Law was eternal. Paul is saying that the Law was temporary and the Promise, eternal, and that the Law, being temporary, concluded with the arrival of the one offspring, Jesus.  

The last phrase of verse 19 and verse 20, Paul talks about angels and a mediator that are involved in the giving of the Law, and ends with the statement that “God is one.” Paul’s meaning is not exactly clear. A quick look at Deuteronomy 32 might help us.  

Deut. 33:2 says, “The Lord came from Sinai
   and dawned over them from Seir;
    he shone forth from Mount Paran.
He came with  myriads of holy ones
    from the south, from his mountain slopes.

The words, “Holy ones” imply, as Paul also does, that there were many angels involved in the giving of the Law. 

Also, You might ask, “Who is this mediator that paul is speaking of?” There are different ideas, but the one that makes the most sense to me, since we are talking about the giving of the Law, is that the mediator is Moses.  Thomas Schreiner states that Paul’s meaning here is that “the law was given to Moses through angels, and Moses in turn mediated the law to the people.  (Schreiner, 243.) Schreiner's thoughts make sense here.  

Paul continues, explaining indirectly what mediators do: They mediate between two parties.  So the fact that there is a mediator implies that two parties are involved.  However, Paul concludes the argument with the statement, “but God is one.”  It seems like a clear reference to the Shema in Deut.6:4 “ hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”  Paul's point? God did not mediate the Promise to Abraham, He simply gave it.  Schreiner suggests here that Paul’s point is that the fact that the Law had a mediator shows that it is inferior to the Promise, which needed no mediator.  (Scheiner, 243.)

Paul has consistently used the Old Testament to prove his points, turning the various arguments of the Judaizing teaching on their respective heads.  He has been using Abraham, one of their great heroes.  He used the prophet Habakkuk, and now Moses and the Shema. he uses them effectively to point out that the Promise, grace, faith and Gentile inclusion into His inheritance have always been God’s plan for our salvation.  This is good news for us. 

Promise

 Greeting.

We will continue our examination of Paul's letter to the Galatians, today, by looking at chapter 3, verses 15-17.  Back in verse 6, Paul told his readers to consider Abraham.  That discussion of Abraham is ongoing, and now Paul going to bring in some logic to halp clarify his point.  Here is my translation: 

15 Brothers and sisters, to use an example of human thinking, once a man-made contract is agreed upon, no one can cancel it or add to it. 16 So when the promises were made to Abraham and his offspring, it didn’t say, “and to his offsprings,” meaning many, but rather, just one.  When saying, “And to your offspring,” he means, The Christ. 17 This is what I am saying, the God-given covenant, that had been confirmed 430 years earlier, was not nullified when the Law came. The Law did not cancel the promise.

Paul starts verse 15 off by addressing the Galatians as Ἀδελφοί (Adelphoi) or ‘Brothers and Sisters.”  He hasn’t addressed them in this way since early in the letter. (Gal. 1:11) This is a much kinder address than “O foolish Galatians!”  Paul may be exasperated, but he has not given up on them.  They are still his brothers and sisters in Christ.  

As Paul continues, he starts making his case for grace using a human example that they would all understand.  When making a contract or covenant, once agreed upon, the two parties are bound by it.  One party cannot suddenly change or cancel the contract.  So, when God made his covenant promise to Abraham, which was before the Law, it was not canceled out by the Law. God’s promise still stands.  Paul’s ultimate point here is that God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness all supersede the Law, and those things are prompted by our faith, just like it was in Abraham’s case. There is a subpoint to be made here:  If we all understand that a contract, or covenant, made by humans cannot be broken, how much more binding is a covenant made by God? 

In verse 17, the point is made that the Law came 430 years after the promise, and that when it was made, it did not nullify the promise.  Following Paul’s stream of logic here, if the Judaizers that were leading the Galatians astray, were actually correct, then the promise is cancelled by the Law, and we become justified through our lawkeeping.  

Thanks be to God that they are wrong, since the Law is impossible to keep in its entirety, unless you are God Himself.  

Verse 15 is linked to verse 17, and verse 16 sits between them as almost a parenthetical statement.  Paul makes the point that in the promise, the Greek word σπέρματι (spermati) (seed, descendant, offspring) is singular, not plural.  God’s promise is coming through one of Abraham;s descendants, and that one is Jesus, the Christ. 

This is an unusual way for Paul to phrase, since the word ‘offspring’ could be considered a collective singular, meaning all of his descendants. However, Paul uses this to make the case that when God made the promise to Abraham back in Genesis, that promise was referring to Jesus.  

Moving forward, we will continue to see Paul contrasting The Promise and The Law.  We will see that The Promise supersedes the Law, and, perhaps, more importantly, The Promise is better.  The Promise brings Jesus and grace.  

Freedom and Blessing

Hello everyone.

Today we will continue to go through Galatians 3, this time looking at verses 12-14:  Here is my translation: 

12 The law is not based on faith, but whoever keeps the law will live according to the Law.  13 The Christ has set us free from the curse of the law, by becoming cursed himself, on our behalf.  It is written. “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.” 14 So now, the Gentiles  can also receive the blessing of Abraham in Jesus Christ, so that we can receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

We looked in my previous at verse 11.  Let's tie verses 11 and 12 together.  Paul has established, quoting the prophet Habakkuk, that the righteous will live their faith.  Then, in verse 12 he points out that the Law is not based on faith.  We may not connect those dots right away, but what Paul is saying is actually somewhat obvious, because the Law is based on obedience, and obedience and faith are related, but on the same thing. Paul goes on to say that those who keep the Law will live according to the Law. This, too, is obvious. So, let’s follow the logic together.  Paul is presenting two ways of thinking here.  In one, our righteousness/justification is based on obedience to the Law, and the other it is based on living by faith.   Which one is God looking for?  Paul is telling the churches in Galatia, that God is looking for them to live by faith. In his commentary, Douglas Moo explains the connection like this, the righteous person finds life ‘through faith,’ but the Law is not a matter of ‘through faith.’ (Moo, 208.) 

Continuing on, in verse 13, Paul goes back to the discussion of being under a curse.  This time, however, the discussion is a little more encouraging for the Christian.  Paul states that, “Christ has freed us from the curse of the law.”  This is good news for us.  Those who live under the law are under the curse of law, but those who follow Jesus and live by faith are freed from this curse, because Jesus has taken on the curse upon himself on our behalf.  We do not have to suffer the penalty of this curse.  We, as Christians, can enjoy the benefit of Jesus’s redemptive work. This is something that we cannot earn through our obedience to the Law. 

Paul also refers to Deut. 21:22-23, when he says, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.” He is telling us that Jesus, in going to the Cross, took on the curse of the Law for us, and now, we have the responsibility to believe.

I think that at this point, we should qualify something.  As Paul has made his arguments, one could begin to minimize obedience.  Do we still need to be obedient?  Yes, of course we do. I don’t think Paul would ever have said that our freedom in Christ allows us to behave however we want, as long as we have faith. However, our thinking becomes different.  Our obedience becomes obedience prompted by our faith, not something that results out of a sense of duty, or in order to earn the blessings of Christ.  

In verse 14 Paul sums up two ideas central to what he has been talking about here. “So now, the Gentiles can also receive the blessing of Abraham in Jesus Christ, so that we can receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

The Gentiles can now enjoy the blessings of Abraham, just like the Jews.  The Gentiles receive this association, not through their connection to Judaism and the Law, but through their faith in Jesus.  

Secondly, we can now receive God’s Spirit through faith. Paul reaches back to the beginning of the chapter (verses 1-5) where he makes the point that when they first became Christians and received the Holy Spirit, it wasn’t because of their obedience to the Law that they received the Spirit, it was because of their faith.  (Their attempts to fall in line with the Old Law actually came after they had already received the Spirit.)  

Douglas Moo makes this statement about v. 14: “Paul’s association of union with Christ and faith as the way in which all God’s blessings are enjoyed….Paul ultimately insists that both the Abrahamic blessing and the Holy Spirit are experienced both ‘in Christ’ and ‘by faith.’ (Moo, 215.) Well said.  Let us make sure that we are enjoying these blessings that come 'in Christ' and 'by faith.' 

The Righteous Will Live By Faith

Hello everyone

We will continue our look at Galatians 3 by focusing on verse 11, where Paul quotes the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk.  Here is my translation:  "It is obvious that the Law does not make anyone righteous before God, instead, “the righteous will live by faith.” 

In verse 11, Paul uses a Greek δῆλον (dēlon). This word means, “clear to the understanding, clear, plain, evident.” In my own translation, I have used the word ‘obvious.’ The point is, it should be clear, or obvious, to us that the Law does not make us righteous.  Paul then quotes from Habakkuk 2:4, “the righteous will live by faith.” 

Hab. 2:4 is obviously an important scripture reference.  Paul quotes it twice.  Here in Gal. 3:11 and Romans 1:17.  The Hebrew writer quotes it as well in Heb. 10:38.  

In his commentary on Galatians, Moo comments on Hab. 2:4 as well, “In its original context, Hab. 2:4b, appears to be an implicit call on the faithful among the people of Israel to look beyond the confusing and depressing circumstances of their historical situation and to ‘live’ on the basis of steadfast faithfulness in the Lord and His encouraging revelation.” (Moo, 206.)  

Habbakkuk's words, and Moo's reflection on them, certainly still apply to us, here and now. So, it might be good to take a moment and reflect on Hab. 2:4. 

In earlier verses in Habbakkuk's prophecy, Habakkuk has complained to God about the abundant unrighteousness that he saw around him in Israel. God responds to Habakkuk’s complaint, saying that He was preparing the Babylonians to deal with the unrighteousness in Israel. 

Habakkuk understandably complains again.  The Babylonians are even more unrighteous than the Israelites.  Why would a righteous God allow them to have the power? God’s response is basically, you let me worry about the Babylonians.  The righteous will live by faith.  (2:4)  God used the Babylonians to accomplish His purposes and then He deals with them.  God, as always, is in control. 

The whole of 2:4 reads, “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness” While God is using the Babylonians for His purposes, He does recognize their arrogance (puffed up) and their unrighteousness (not upright.)  There is a clear contrast here between the “puffed up, not upright” and the “righteous, faithful.”   We definitely, want to make sure that we are on the right side of that one.  

This principle still applies.  We may not understand how God works through unrighteous people, but He still does.  In our generation, God is at work, even when it seems that He is not. Things happen that we do not understand, and we question God.  He will listen to our complaint, but in the end, He’s got this.  Our responsibility is to trust Him.

In the end of Habbakuk, he submits to God’s sovereignty.  God has heard his complaints and responded, and not how Habakkuk would have wanted him to.  Never-the-less, in 3:17-18, he says this: 

Though the fig tree does not bud

   and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

    and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

    and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk has learned to trust God no matter what.  He rejoices in God even though we might look at his situation  and wonder what he has to rejoice about. He is faithful and God, like He did with Abraham, will credit it to him as righteousness. May we imitate such faith.