September
2nd The
purpose of the Law
19:
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was
made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20:
Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21: Is the
law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had
been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. 22: But the scripture hath concluded all
under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given
to them that believe. 23: But before faith came, we were kept under
the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ,
that we might be justified by faith. 25: But after that faith is
come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26: For ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27: For as many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28: There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29: And
if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to
the promise.
Paul
continues with a rhetorical question – If the Mosaic law does not
save and the Mosaic law is not for the christian then what was the
point of it? Paul explains that it was added because of
transgressions but only until the seed (Christ) should come to whom
the promise of Abraham was made. And it was given by angels into the
hands of Moses (The Mediator). Paul says that, the mediator mediates
between two parties. Paul asks another question, is the Mosaic Law
antagonistic to the promises of God? God forbid! If a law had been
given that could give salvation, then righteousness before God would
have been possible through keeping the law. But the scripture has
imprisoned all men together in the cell of sin, so that the promise
which comes by faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to all those who
believe. By faith they are set free. But before faith came we were
all kept imprisoned by the law, locked away until faith in Christ was
revealed. To change the analogy Paul switches to the nursery in the
home, where the guardian of the children keeps them shut in and
protects them until the time comes for the children to be introduced
to Christ, so that we might then be declared righteous by faith in
him. But now that faith in Christ has been revealed, we are no longer
under the guardian of the children, because you are all ‘grown up’
son of God by faith in Christ Jesus. You have all been united in
spiritual union with Christ and come into communion with him. Our
union in Christ has none of the traditional barriers to blessing.
Gentiles who were outside of the blessing of God have come into
blessing on exactly the same ground as Jews. Slaves now come into
Christ in exactly the same way as the freemen. And even women have
the same union with Christ as men. So that ‘In Christ’ there is
complete union to Christ and Nationality, Status in life and Gender
have no relation to the union that the believer has in Christ. And if
we belong to Christ then we are united to Abraham’s true seed and
in Christ we are heirs of the promises made to him. Think of the
absurdity of grown up sons, who have fully come into the inheritance
(Aged say 21yrs old), locked away under the supervision of a nanny!
That’s what happens when Christians go back to the Mosaic Law as
the Galatians did.
- What was the main purpose of the Mosaic Law?
- How does Paul describe the position of the Jews before God before Christ came?
- How does Paul characterise the foolishness of returning to the law after becoming believers in Christ?
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