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ONE NEW MAN,A NEW CREATION, BOTH GROUPS (JEW AND GENTILE) ARE ONE IN CHRIST, ONE IN MESSIAH
THE MENNORAH AND FISH TOGETHER REPRESENT JEW AND GENTILE AS ONE IN THE BODY OF MESSIAH.
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Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men) remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus (Yeshua haMasiach) you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Eph. 2:14-18
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Colossians 3:10
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. In this new life it doesn't matter if you are Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and He live in all of us.
Colossians 3:10
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. In this new life it doesn't matter if you are Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and He live in all of us.
THE ONENESS OF ALL BELIEVERS
Believers are one in :
Body
Spirit
Hope
Lord
Faith
Baptism
God
Our unity is experienced in:
The fellowship of believers - the church.
The Holy Spirit, who activates the fellowship.
That glorious future to which we are all called.
haMeshiach(Christ), to whom we all belong.
Our singular commitment to Messiah (Christ).
Baptism- the sign of entry into the family of God.
God, who is our Father, who keeps us for eternity.
Too often believers separate because of minor differences in doctrine. But Paul shows those areas where believers must agree to attain the true unity. When believers have this unity of spirit, petty differences should never be allowed to dissolve that unity.
1 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, 3 diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds [us] . 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. Eph 4:1-6 (HCSB)
God has chosen us to be haMashiach's(Christ's) representatives on earth, in light of the truth. Paul challenges us to live lives worthy of the calling we have received--it is an awesome privilege of being called Christ's own. This includes being humble, gentle, patient, understanding, and peaceful. People are watching your life. Can they see Messiah's qualities in you?
There is one body. Unity does not just happen we have to work at it. Often differences among people can lead to division, but this should not be true in the church, in any congregation of true believers. Instead of concentrating on what divides us, we should remember what unites us. No one is ever going to be perfect here on earth. We should accept and love others in spite of their faults. When we see faults we should be patient, there are some whose actions or personality really annoy us. We should pray and ask God to help us find something to like about them. To build unity is one of the Holy Spirit's important roles. He leads, but we have to be willing to be led and to do our part to keep the peace. We do that by focusing on God, not on ourselves. Ask God to give you an opportunity to share your own unique gift and to contribute to the building up of the body, to make it strong and healthy.
God has shown us that His will is that both groups be one. He prays that the unity is as perfect as the Father is in the Son. This is a call to repentance, and to forgive one another, and for agape love for one another. God's Spirit must move us and change the inner man. We are not able to bring peace and unity without the Holy Spirit. Pray for the kingdom of God to come to fruition on earth as it is in heaven. May God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Believers are one in :
Body
Spirit
Hope
Lord
Faith
Baptism
God
Our unity is experienced in:
The fellowship of believers - the church.
The Holy Spirit, who activates the fellowship.
That glorious future to which we are all called.
haMeshiach(Christ), to whom we all belong.
Our singular commitment to Messiah (Christ).
Baptism- the sign of entry into the family of God.
God, who is our Father, who keeps us for eternity.
Too often believers separate because of minor differences in doctrine. But Paul shows those areas where believers must agree to attain the true unity. When believers have this unity of spirit, petty differences should never be allowed to dissolve that unity.
1 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, 3 diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds [us] . 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. Eph 4:1-6 (HCSB)
God has chosen us to be haMashiach's(Christ's) representatives on earth, in light of the truth. Paul challenges us to live lives worthy of the calling we have received--it is an awesome privilege of being called Christ's own. This includes being humble, gentle, patient, understanding, and peaceful. People are watching your life. Can they see Messiah's qualities in you?
There is one body. Unity does not just happen we have to work at it. Often differences among people can lead to division, but this should not be true in the church, in any congregation of true believers. Instead of concentrating on what divides us, we should remember what unites us. No one is ever going to be perfect here on earth. We should accept and love others in spite of their faults. When we see faults we should be patient, there are some whose actions or personality really annoy us. We should pray and ask God to help us find something to like about them. To build unity is one of the Holy Spirit's important roles. He leads, but we have to be willing to be led and to do our part to keep the peace. We do that by focusing on God, not on ourselves. Ask God to give you an opportunity to share your own unique gift and to contribute to the building up of the body, to make it strong and healthy.
God has shown us that His will is that both groups be one. He prays that the unity is as perfect as the Father is in the Son. This is a call to repentance, and to forgive one another, and for agape love for one another. God's Spirit must move us and change the inner man. We are not able to bring peace and unity without the Holy Spirit. Pray for the kingdom of God to come to fruition on earth as it is in heaven. May God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel and the church are both equal in God's eyes. Though we may sing to a different beat the song is the same. Our voices harmonize to bring glory and praise to the Lord God Almighty.
Anyone who chooses their own rule and not God's rule can have no part in this choir.
Anyone who does not sing to the Messiah has no part in the celebration.
Only the true people of God know the song, the melody, and the object of worship.
This choir can bring about a resounding, harmonizing, glorious song of praise that will be a sweet, sweet, sound in God's ears.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Glory to God in the highest.
Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with His glory.
How great are you Lord, how great is your mercy.
How great are you O, Lord, your loving kindness endures forever.
Our God can move the mountains. Our God is mighty to save.
Ancient of Days. Clothed in majesty. We love you.
The Godhead, three in one, Father, Spirit, Son.
Name above all names. He is mighty to save.
Our strength, our strong deliverer.
Our God, You reign forever.
You are God alone, seated on the throne.
You O Lord, are worthy of all praise.
"Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. " 1 Chronicles 16:29
Anyone who chooses their own rule and not God's rule can have no part in this choir.
Anyone who does not sing to the Messiah has no part in the celebration.
Only the true people of God know the song, the melody, and the object of worship.
This choir can bring about a resounding, harmonizing, glorious song of praise that will be a sweet, sweet, sound in God's ears.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Glory to God in the highest.
Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with His glory.
How great are you Lord, how great is your mercy.
How great are you O, Lord, your loving kindness endures forever.
Our God can move the mountains. Our God is mighty to save.
Ancient of Days. Clothed in majesty. We love you.
The Godhead, three in one, Father, Spirit, Son.
Name above all names. He is mighty to save.
Our strength, our strong deliverer.
Our God, You reign forever.
You are God alone, seated on the throne.
You O Lord, are worthy of all praise.
"Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. " 1 Chronicles 16:29
Living to Please Others
1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who
are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves.2 We should help others do what is right and build
them up in the Lord.3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As
the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have
fallen on me.” 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long
ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has
accepted you so that God will be given glory.8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”
10 And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.”
11 And yet again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.”
12 And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.”
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace,16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.17 So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. 20 My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.21 I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says,
“Those who have never been told about him will see,and
those who have never heard of him will understand.”
Romans 15:1-21 (NLT)
1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who
are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves.2 We should help others do what is right and build
them up in the Lord.3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As
the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have
fallen on me.” 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long
ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has
accepted you so that God will be given glory.8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”
10 And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.”
11 And yet again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.”
12 And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.”
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace,16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.17 So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. 20 My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.21 I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says,
“Those who have never been told about him will see,and
those who have never heard of him will understand.”
Romans 15:1-21 (NLT)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JEWS, GENTILES & THE CHURCH by Dave Hunt
Before the cross of Christ, mankind was divided into two groups: Jews and Gentiles. The Old and New Testaments both make very clear what caused this distinction: it was the covenants God had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and with their descendants through Moses. These covenants were for Israel alone and separated her from all other nations on the face of the earth, making God's "chosen people" absolutely unique. Israel was segregated from other peoples by the Mosaic law and by her special relationship with the One who calls Himself "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
The important distinction between Jews and Gentiles is maintained consistently throughout the Bible: "...so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth" (Ex.33:16); "...for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people that ye should be mine" (Lev. 20:26); "And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his ... own people forever" (II Chron.17:21-22); ... ye (Gentiles) were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God ..." (Eph.2:11-12).
After the cross a new entity came into existence -- the church that Jesus Christ promised He would build (Matt. 16:18). As a result, there are now three divisions of mankind: Jews, Gentiles and the church. Paul tells us that we are to "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (I Cor. 10:32). It is absolutely essential to understand that these three groups exist side- by-side in today's world, to distinguish between them, and to recognize that God deals with each differently
Essential also is an understanding that the church was created through offering to both Jews and Gentiles a "new covenant" relationship with God. This did not bring Gentiles under the Jewish Mosaic Law (as some erroneously teach), but delivered from it those coming into the church, both Jews and Gentiles. Paul explains that Gentiles who were "aliens ... of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise" have been "made nigh(to God) by the blood of Christ." God has "broken down the middle wall of partition (between Jew and Gentile); having abolished in his flesh the (Mosaic) law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of both Jew and Gentile, one new man" (Eph. 2:11- 22).
These Scriptures (and many others) make it clear that the church did not replace Israel, but came into existence as a new and third entity comprised of both Jews and Gentiles and distinct from each. As surely as Gentiles continue to exist outside the church, so does Israel with all of God's promises and plans for her remaining in full force. God also has unique plans for the church different from those for either Israel or the Gentile nations.
That the Mosaic law was never intended for Gentiles and is not applicable to the church is clear from many Scriptures in addition to those quoted above, such as: "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them ... (and) has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law" (Deut. 4:7- 8); "He shows his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He has not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them"(Ps. 147:19-20) As already noted, the Mosaic "law of commandments" that distinguished Israel from the rest of the world was "abolished" by the cross of Christ in the process of creating the church out of Jews and Gentiles who have been made into "one new man."
Failure to accept the above teaching of Scripture leads to grievous errors which plagued the early church and are being revived today. Foremost, of course, is legalism -- the idea that to be a Christian one must obey the laws of Moses. This causes confusion both as to justification and sanctification: the means of being delivered from sin's future penalty, and from its present power in our lives. The Scripture makes it clear that neither of these involves keeping the law. The suggestion of "Judaizers", that the church was under the Mosaic Law, was rejected as heresy by the apostles and elders when they met in Jerusalem specifically to consider this subject shortly after Pentecost (Acts 15). Paul thoroughly refuted the Judaizers' teaching in his Epistle to the Galatians
Certainly through keeping the law "there shall no flesh be justified" (Rom.3:20). Justification comes as a free gift of God's grace through the finished work of Christ. Nor can one be sanctified (i.e. gain the victory over the practice of sin) by keeping the law, because of the weakness of human flesh. The good news is that "what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh," God accomplished through "sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin" (Rom.8:1-4). The New Testament presents to the Christian a much higher standard of moral and ethical conduct than that of the Mosaic Law. And we are empowered to live this higher standard because Christ Himself, by the Holy Spirit, has come to indwell our hearts and to live through us in a supernatural life pleasing to God. The glorious result is the death of self and a new life of faith (Gal.2:20) that produces the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23)
There are many serious consequences to the growing delusion that the church is Israel. Christ said that those who "call themselves Jews and are not" are in fact "the synagogue of Satan"(Rev. 2:9;3:9)! Some of those who teach this lie are brilliant, such as Greg Bahnsen, who holds his doctorate in philosophy from USC. Yet the errors they make are so elementary as to betray a basic anti-Jewish sentiment, which they deny, but which seems to have blinded them to the obvious. Bahnsen, for example, quotes Ps. 89:34 ("My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.") to prove his contention that "God's covenant is one unchanging moral code through Old & New Testaments" (By This Standard, p.44). Yet Psalm 89 has nothing whatsoever to do with a moral code but is all about the covenant God made with David that "His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me" (v.36). This is the covenant the angel Gabriel reaffirmed in telling Mary that the One conceived in her, of the Holy Spirit, would reign on the throne of His father David, a covenant !
Far from teaching that the law would always be in force, Christ declared that it would pass away when it was fulfilled, and that He had come to fulfill it: "I am not come to destroy [the law], but to fulfill [it]. ... One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5:17-l8). His life, death, burial and resurrection accomplished this fulfillment and made possible the new covenant relationship with God where by those in the church are "justified by faith without the deeds of law" (Rom. 3:21-30). Does this "make void the law"? No, it "establish[es] the law" (v.31) as that which made, Israel unique, was the barrier between Jew and Gentile, is still applicable to Jews, but for those now in the church, both Jews and Gentiles, has been fulfilled and abolished in Christ.
Those who teach that the church is Israel go on to claim that the church is heir to all of the promises given to Israel. This is as ludicrous as claiming that "the land of Israel" is now "the land of the church." Clearly the church has no relationship to the land God gave to Israel. Hear God's promise: "... though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee ... He that scattered Israel will gather him ... they shall come and sing in the height of Zion ... they shall not sorrow any more at all" (Jer.30:10-11;31:3-14;etc.).
The preservation of the Israelis as an identifiable people, in spite of the proverbial "wandering Jews" 2500-year diaspora from the promised land, and the establishment of Israel in 1948, constitute irrefutable proof for the existence of the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" and the validity of His Holy Word. Therefore, to insist that Israel no longer has any claim to her ancient homeland, and that her return thereto is a mere coincidence, denies one of the most persuasive arguments for belief in God and the Gospel, dishonors Him and His Word, and is not only illogical but evil!
This language may seem strong, but it is justified in view of the monstrous errors that grow from this one delusion, as well as by the severity of Christ's "synagogue of Satan" indictment. It may seem innocent enough to claim for the church II Chron. 7:14, but this Scripture that has become such a popular favorite simply does not apply to the church. While Christians may make spiritual applications to themselves from God's admonition to Israel to "humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way," the "land" He promised to heal as a result was Israel and only Israel, not the United States or any other country.
Gary North's book, When Justice is Aborted, begins with God's promise to Joshua that He would help him to conquer the land of Canaan--then, in a typical Reconstruction/Kingdom/ Domin-ion misapplication of Scripture, on that basis justifies a Christian takeover of the world. The Forceful Men organization, co-directed by muscleman John Jacobs, recently sponsored a large conference in Phoenix featuring leading Charismatic speakers, who promoted the same error. God's exhortation to Joshua to "go in and possess the land [of Canaan] was presented as inspiration and justification for a "Joshua generation" of macho-minded Christians taking over America and the world. In fact, Joshua himself had no authority from God to take over any land outside of the prescribed boundaries specifically given to Israel. (Gen.15:18-21; Num.34:l-12;etc.)
The Second Coming of Christ becomes clouded in confusion if we fail to remember that the Lord comes in a different and specific manner for "Jews, Gentiles and the church of God." For His bride He comes secretly to "rapture" her to His Father's house of many mansions where He has prepared an eternal dwelling place for her. For Israel, in the midst of God's judgment for her rejection of her Messiah, surrounded by the armies of the world and about to be destroyed, He comes visibly in power to rescue her, judge her Gentile enemies, and to establish the Millennial kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem. May God help us to "love His appearing" and to witness with a clear voice concerning these soon coming events
Reprinted with permission of the Berean Call Ministry P.O. Box 7019Bend, OR97708 www.thebereancall.org
For further information contact:
-MENORAH MINISTRIES -
P.O. Box 460024
Glendale, CO 80246-0024
Voice: 303-355-2009 Fax: 303-355-6901
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet Page: http://www.menorah.org
________________________________________________________
JEWS, GENTILES & THE CHURCH by Dave Hunt
Before the cross of Christ, mankind was divided into two groups: Jews and Gentiles. The Old and New Testaments both make very clear what caused this distinction: it was the covenants God had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and with their descendants through Moses. These covenants were for Israel alone and separated her from all other nations on the face of the earth, making God's "chosen people" absolutely unique. Israel was segregated from other peoples by the Mosaic law and by her special relationship with the One who calls Himself "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
The important distinction between Jews and Gentiles is maintained consistently throughout the Bible: "...so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth" (Ex.33:16); "...for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people that ye should be mine" (Lev. 20:26); "And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his ... own people forever" (II Chron.17:21-22); ... ye (Gentiles) were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God ..." (Eph.2:11-12).
After the cross a new entity came into existence -- the church that Jesus Christ promised He would build (Matt. 16:18). As a result, there are now three divisions of mankind: Jews, Gentiles and the church. Paul tells us that we are to "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (I Cor. 10:32). It is absolutely essential to understand that these three groups exist side- by-side in today's world, to distinguish between them, and to recognize that God deals with each differently
Essential also is an understanding that the church was created through offering to both Jews and Gentiles a "new covenant" relationship with God. This did not bring Gentiles under the Jewish Mosaic Law (as some erroneously teach), but delivered from it those coming into the church, both Jews and Gentiles. Paul explains that Gentiles who were "aliens ... of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise" have been "made nigh(to God) by the blood of Christ." God has "broken down the middle wall of partition (between Jew and Gentile); having abolished in his flesh the (Mosaic) law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of both Jew and Gentile, one new man" (Eph. 2:11- 22).
These Scriptures (and many others) make it clear that the church did not replace Israel, but came into existence as a new and third entity comprised of both Jews and Gentiles and distinct from each. As surely as Gentiles continue to exist outside the church, so does Israel with all of God's promises and plans for her remaining in full force. God also has unique plans for the church different from those for either Israel or the Gentile nations.
That the Mosaic law was never intended for Gentiles and is not applicable to the church is clear from many Scriptures in addition to those quoted above, such as: "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them ... (and) has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law" (Deut. 4:7- 8); "He shows his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He has not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them"(Ps. 147:19-20) As already noted, the Mosaic "law of commandments" that distinguished Israel from the rest of the world was "abolished" by the cross of Christ in the process of creating the church out of Jews and Gentiles who have been made into "one new man."
Failure to accept the above teaching of Scripture leads to grievous errors which plagued the early church and are being revived today. Foremost, of course, is legalism -- the idea that to be a Christian one must obey the laws of Moses. This causes confusion both as to justification and sanctification: the means of being delivered from sin's future penalty, and from its present power in our lives. The Scripture makes it clear that neither of these involves keeping the law. The suggestion of "Judaizers", that the church was under the Mosaic Law, was rejected as heresy by the apostles and elders when they met in Jerusalem specifically to consider this subject shortly after Pentecost (Acts 15). Paul thoroughly refuted the Judaizers' teaching in his Epistle to the Galatians
Certainly through keeping the law "there shall no flesh be justified" (Rom.3:20). Justification comes as a free gift of God's grace through the finished work of Christ. Nor can one be sanctified (i.e. gain the victory over the practice of sin) by keeping the law, because of the weakness of human flesh. The good news is that "what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh," God accomplished through "sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin" (Rom.8:1-4). The New Testament presents to the Christian a much higher standard of moral and ethical conduct than that of the Mosaic Law. And we are empowered to live this higher standard because Christ Himself, by the Holy Spirit, has come to indwell our hearts and to live through us in a supernatural life pleasing to God. The glorious result is the death of self and a new life of faith (Gal.2:20) that produces the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23)
There are many serious consequences to the growing delusion that the church is Israel. Christ said that those who "call themselves Jews and are not" are in fact "the synagogue of Satan"(Rev. 2:9;3:9)! Some of those who teach this lie are brilliant, such as Greg Bahnsen, who holds his doctorate in philosophy from USC. Yet the errors they make are so elementary as to betray a basic anti-Jewish sentiment, which they deny, but which seems to have blinded them to the obvious. Bahnsen, for example, quotes Ps. 89:34 ("My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.") to prove his contention that "God's covenant is one unchanging moral code through Old & New Testaments" (By This Standard, p.44). Yet Psalm 89 has nothing whatsoever to do with a moral code but is all about the covenant God made with David that "His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me" (v.36). This is the covenant the angel Gabriel reaffirmed in telling Mary that the One conceived in her, of the Holy Spirit, would reign on the throne of His father David, a covenant !
Far from teaching that the law would always be in force, Christ declared that it would pass away when it was fulfilled, and that He had come to fulfill it: "I am not come to destroy [the law], but to fulfill [it]. ... One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5:17-l8). His life, death, burial and resurrection accomplished this fulfillment and made possible the new covenant relationship with God where by those in the church are "justified by faith without the deeds of law" (Rom. 3:21-30). Does this "make void the law"? No, it "establish[es] the law" (v.31) as that which made, Israel unique, was the barrier between Jew and Gentile, is still applicable to Jews, but for those now in the church, both Jews and Gentiles, has been fulfilled and abolished in Christ.
Those who teach that the church is Israel go on to claim that the church is heir to all of the promises given to Israel. This is as ludicrous as claiming that "the land of Israel" is now "the land of the church." Clearly the church has no relationship to the land God gave to Israel. Hear God's promise: "... though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee ... He that scattered Israel will gather him ... they shall come and sing in the height of Zion ... they shall not sorrow any more at all" (Jer.30:10-11;31:3-14;etc.).
The preservation of the Israelis as an identifiable people, in spite of the proverbial "wandering Jews" 2500-year diaspora from the promised land, and the establishment of Israel in 1948, constitute irrefutable proof for the existence of the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" and the validity of His Holy Word. Therefore, to insist that Israel no longer has any claim to her ancient homeland, and that her return thereto is a mere coincidence, denies one of the most persuasive arguments for belief in God and the Gospel, dishonors Him and His Word, and is not only illogical but evil!
This language may seem strong, but it is justified in view of the monstrous errors that grow from this one delusion, as well as by the severity of Christ's "synagogue of Satan" indictment. It may seem innocent enough to claim for the church II Chron. 7:14, but this Scripture that has become such a popular favorite simply does not apply to the church. While Christians may make spiritual applications to themselves from God's admonition to Israel to "humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way," the "land" He promised to heal as a result was Israel and only Israel, not the United States or any other country.
Gary North's book, When Justice is Aborted, begins with God's promise to Joshua that He would help him to conquer the land of Canaan--then, in a typical Reconstruction/Kingdom/ Domin-ion misapplication of Scripture, on that basis justifies a Christian takeover of the world. The Forceful Men organization, co-directed by muscleman John Jacobs, recently sponsored a large conference in Phoenix featuring leading Charismatic speakers, who promoted the same error. God's exhortation to Joshua to "go in and possess the land [of Canaan] was presented as inspiration and justification for a "Joshua generation" of macho-minded Christians taking over America and the world. In fact, Joshua himself had no authority from God to take over any land outside of the prescribed boundaries specifically given to Israel. (Gen.15:18-21; Num.34:l-12;etc.)
The Second Coming of Christ becomes clouded in confusion if we fail to remember that the Lord comes in a different and specific manner for "Jews, Gentiles and the church of God." For His bride He comes secretly to "rapture" her to His Father's house of many mansions where He has prepared an eternal dwelling place for her. For Israel, in the midst of God's judgment for her rejection of her Messiah, surrounded by the armies of the world and about to be destroyed, He comes visibly in power to rescue her, judge her Gentile enemies, and to establish the Millennial kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem. May God help us to "love His appearing" and to witness with a clear voice concerning these soon coming events
Reprinted with permission of the Berean Call Ministry P.O. Box 7019Bend, OR97708 www.thebereancall.org
For further information contact:
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In the Jewish New Testament Commentary, David H. Stern gives us an interesting perspective on what Yeshua (Jesus) brought to the faith and the religion being practiced in that day from Matthew 9:16 and 17
These verses speak to the issue of whether faith in Yeshua the Messiah can be combined with Judaism. Here the old coat is Judaism. The unshrunk cloth is Messianic faith which has not been adapted (shrunk) to the framework of Judaism as currently practiced. ("Shrinking" here is simply an aspect of Yeshua's "patch" metaphor. It does not imply that Messianic faith must be diminished in order to fit into Judaism.") Combining unadapted Messianic faith with traditional Judaism does not work-the patch tears away from the coat; that is, faith in Yeshua apart from Judaism - and later on in the case of Gentiles, faith to Yeshua apart from the foundational truths about God taught in the Tanakh (Old Testament)- is useless and worthless. Not only that, but it leaves a worse hole-attempting to combine unadapted Messianic faith with traditional Judaism leaves Judaism worse off than before. The implication is that one must shrink the new cloth- adapt Messianic faith to Judaism -- for Yeshua does not imply that there is anything wrong with patching the old coat! The early Messianic Jews did adapt Messianic faith to Judaism, but the later Gentile Church did not. Instead, some forms of Gentile Christianity became paganized precisely because the Tanakh was forgotten or under emphasized. Messianic Jews today are once again trying to bring New Testament faith back to its Jewish roots.
v.17 Whereas in v. 16 Messianic faith has to be adapted to Judaism, here it is Judaism which must be adjusted to Messianic faith. If one tries to put new wine, Messianic faith, into old wine skins, traditional Judaism, the faith is lost and Judaism is ruined. But if Judaism is freshly prepared, reconditioned so that it can accommodate trust in Yeshua the Messiah, both the faith and the renewed Judaism, Messianic Judaism, are preserved.
This understanding is undergireded by the writer's careful choice of words: "new" (Greek neos) wine, "fresh" (kainos) wine skins. "Neos" means "new" or "renewed", in respect to quality, contrasting with "old" or "not renewed" and implying superiority. Old wine skins have lost their strength and elasticity, so that they can't withstand the pressure of new wine still fermenting, although an old wineskin can be restored to service if its useful qualities are renewed.
The meaning of the figure is that the new wine of Messianic living cannot be poured into old religious forms If they remain rigid. But if the old religious forms become "fresh" they can accommodate Yeshua. When "kainos" is rendered "new" as in many translations, the implication seems to be that Judaism cannot possibly be a suitable framework for honoring Yeshua the Jewish Messiah- only the "new wine skins" of Gentilized Christianity will work. This is a peculiar conclusion, especially if it is recalled that Yeshua was speaking with his fellow Jews. As rendered here the point is that the only vessel which can hold the new wine of Messianic life in a Jewish setting is a properly renewed, restored, reconditioned and refreshed Judaism, such as Messianic Judaism was in the first century and aims to be now.
Taken together, verses 16 and 17 imply that both Messianic faith and Judaism should adjust to each other. However, the accommodating must be true to God's Word; on that there is no room for compromise.
To discover more about the modern Messianic movement I direct you to: http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/messianicmovement.htm
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These verses speak to the issue of whether faith in Yeshua the Messiah can be combined with Judaism. Here the old coat is Judaism. The unshrunk cloth is Messianic faith which has not been adapted (shrunk) to the framework of Judaism as currently practiced. ("Shrinking" here is simply an aspect of Yeshua's "patch" metaphor. It does not imply that Messianic faith must be diminished in order to fit into Judaism.") Combining unadapted Messianic faith with traditional Judaism does not work-the patch tears away from the coat; that is, faith in Yeshua apart from Judaism - and later on in the case of Gentiles, faith to Yeshua apart from the foundational truths about God taught in the Tanakh (Old Testament)- is useless and worthless. Not only that, but it leaves a worse hole-attempting to combine unadapted Messianic faith with traditional Judaism leaves Judaism worse off than before. The implication is that one must shrink the new cloth- adapt Messianic faith to Judaism -- for Yeshua does not imply that there is anything wrong with patching the old coat! The early Messianic Jews did adapt Messianic faith to Judaism, but the later Gentile Church did not. Instead, some forms of Gentile Christianity became paganized precisely because the Tanakh was forgotten or under emphasized. Messianic Jews today are once again trying to bring New Testament faith back to its Jewish roots.
v.17 Whereas in v. 16 Messianic faith has to be adapted to Judaism, here it is Judaism which must be adjusted to Messianic faith. If one tries to put new wine, Messianic faith, into old wine skins, traditional Judaism, the faith is lost and Judaism is ruined. But if Judaism is freshly prepared, reconditioned so that it can accommodate trust in Yeshua the Messiah, both the faith and the renewed Judaism, Messianic Judaism, are preserved.
This understanding is undergireded by the writer's careful choice of words: "new" (Greek neos) wine, "fresh" (kainos) wine skins. "Neos" means "new" or "renewed", in respect to quality, contrasting with "old" or "not renewed" and implying superiority. Old wine skins have lost their strength and elasticity, so that they can't withstand the pressure of new wine still fermenting, although an old wineskin can be restored to service if its useful qualities are renewed.
The meaning of the figure is that the new wine of Messianic living cannot be poured into old religious forms If they remain rigid. But if the old religious forms become "fresh" they can accommodate Yeshua. When "kainos" is rendered "new" as in many translations, the implication seems to be that Judaism cannot possibly be a suitable framework for honoring Yeshua the Jewish Messiah- only the "new wine skins" of Gentilized Christianity will work. This is a peculiar conclusion, especially if it is recalled that Yeshua was speaking with his fellow Jews. As rendered here the point is that the only vessel which can hold the new wine of Messianic life in a Jewish setting is a properly renewed, restored, reconditioned and refreshed Judaism, such as Messianic Judaism was in the first century and aims to be now.
Taken together, verses 16 and 17 imply that both Messianic faith and Judaism should adjust to each other. However, the accommodating must be true to God's Word; on that there is no room for compromise.
To discover more about the modern Messianic movement I direct you to: http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/messianicmovement.htm
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We are one in the family of God. There is calling. Fellowship with one another pleases the heart of God.
What matters is to have the right heart toward one another. Click the button below to hear the love of one man and what he believes is the key and what is God's heart. The body of Christ must not fail God.
What matters is to have the right heart toward one another. Click the button below to hear the love of one man and what he believes is the key and what is God's heart. The body of Christ must not fail God.
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There is neither Jew nor Greek.
In Christ the old, worldly lines of separation are all blotted out. All one. One person, as it were, “one new man” (Eph 2:15), of which Christ is the head. All, without regard to race, blended into one whole.
A study through Galatians.
In order to understand this epistle and parts of others, the reader must keep in mind the two great divisions of apostolic Christianity, the Jew and the Gentile. Of the Jewish, Peter, James and John were leaders; of the Gentile, Paul and Barnabas. These leaders were in full harmony, but the two sections of the church were not equally harmonious. The Jewish Christians, as a rule, still kept the Jewish law, and hoped for the conversion of the whole Jewish nation, until the destruction of Jerusalem; one extreme wing of them insisted that the Gentiles should keep the Jewish law, also. It is with this wing that Paul comes in conflict. Here , and also in Acts 15, we have accounts of the conflict. After Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple in ruins, and the church removed elsewhere, the Jewish Christians gradually gave up the Jewish law, and the two divisions welded into one body in which there was neither Jew nor Gentile, but all one in Christ.
6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Gal 1:6-10 (NLT)
He was a Pharisee, was well educated, exceedingly zealous, and reached a high degree. Traditions of my fathers. Not only the law of Moses, but the traditions handed down which were taught so assiduously. See Matt 15:2; Mark 7:3, 13. Our Lord condemned these Jewish traditions.
It was one thing to call him, as was done on the way to Damascus; another to reveal Christ to him. This was needful that he should be a witness of the resurrection to the Gentiles. I conferred not with flesh and blood. He did not go to men to learn more, or for counsel.
He did not seek those who were apostles before him at Jerusalem to be taught. I went into Arabia. This is the only place where this fact is mentioned. Like Moses and Elijah, he spent a season, perhaps for reflection, communion with God, and preparation, amid the Arabian solitudes. He then returned to Damascus. Here he probably did his first preaching (Acts 9:20-22). Arabia lay south and east of Palestine, extending to the vicinity of Damascus. That he was busy planting churches in Syria and Cilicia at this time we know from the fact that we find them in existence soon after (Acts 15:41).
… I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing.3 And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile. 4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called Christians there—false ones, really —who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.6 And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)7 Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews.8 For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.10 Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.13 As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles.16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” 17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Gal 2:2b-20 (NLT)
Paul had circumcised him, not as a matter of obligation, or out of deference to the views of Jewish Christians, but so that he could reach unconverted Jews better, who would not listen to a Gentile. The apostles might have recommended the circumcision of Titus, Paul here intimates, not as a matter of duty, but of prudence, had it not been made an issue by the false brethren. He could not yield to such a demand without a sacrifice of principle. Unawares brought in. These false brethren were really Jews who had slipped into the church. To spy out our liberty. Really enemies in the guise of friends whose object was to take away the freedom of the gospel, and subject Christians to the bondage of the Jewish law.
It was time to act decisively. Antioch was a great center. It was important that no wrong influences go forth from that center. Hence Paul administered the stern rebuke to Peter which follows. Before them all. The rebuke was on a public occasion. If thou, being a Jew, living after the manner of Gentiles. He had, right there in Antioch, lived with the Gentile Christians according to their customs (verse 12). Why did had they compelled the Gentiles, etc. Now, he insisted, at least by his example, that the Gentile Christians should become Jews. He virtually refused to fellowship them.
Paul sternly opposed their demands in order to preserve the truth of the gospel among the Gentiles. The motive of his firmness was to make the future safe. Had he yielded a jot, advantage would have been taken of it.
When the knowledge of Christ came, and he saw his faulty obedience to the law, he realized that he was dead in sin, slain by the law. But having died, he was freed from the law, when he became a new creature in Christ
The account in this chapter of Paul's visit to Jerusalem, and of his controversy with Peter, is utterly inconsistent with the Romish doctrine of the supremacy of Peter. No Pope could or would allow a bishop or cardinal to “rebuke him openly,” as Paul did Peter. So, too, the reference of the controversy in Acts 15, to “the apostles and elders,” instead of to Peter, and the final judgment of James, which was received, contradict the Vatican system. Indeed, the doctrine of popedom is utterly inconsistent with the whole tenor of the Acts, and the Pauline Epistles.... This meeting at Antioch is the last between Peter and Paul of which the New Testament gives record. Early church tradition, however, reports that they met once in Rome, where they were tried and condemned on the same day, and then parted, Peter to be crucified on the hill of the Janiculum, and Paul, the Roman citizen, to be beheaded at the Three Fountains on the Ostian Way. Could we rely upon this tradition it would seem fitting that the two greatest apostles, of the Circumcision and of the Uncircumcision, should lay down their burdens together and go side by side to report their work to their common Lord.
1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” 13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
15 Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case.16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children, ” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ.17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.21 Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it.22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on the character of Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Gal 3 (NLT)
Paul, while among them, had so faithfully and vividly preached Christ crucified, that it might be said that he was pictured before their eyes. Yet, if they were justified by the law, Christ was crucified in vain. He had preached Christ to them, they had heard, believed and obeyed; not a word was said of the works of the law; yet God had acknowledged the work by imparting his Spirit.
They had begun with a spiritual religion, and received the Spirit. Did they expect to be made perfect by the fleshly ordinances of the law?
If they turned from the cross to the law for salvation, all that they had suffered for Christ was in vain.
Did God bestow spiritual gifts and miraculous powers among you as the result of works of the law, or of the hearing of faith? Were these bestowed through the law, or the gospel?
Even as Abraham believed God, etc. The Galatians would have to reply to the questions of verse 5, “By the hearing of faith?” “Yes,” says Paul, “Even as Abraham, who was accepted as righteous by faith without the law.” See Gen 15:6. This passage is quoted in Rom 4:3, 9, 21, 22, and in James 2:23.
Paul now states his great argument. Abraham's faith made him righteous; he is the spiritual father of believers. Those who believe upon Christ, the promised seed of Abraham, are the spiritual children of Abraham and the heirs of the promise.
Looking forward to the salvation of the heathen who believe on Christ. Preached before the gospel unto Abraham. Announced it in anticipation, in a great Messianic promise.
Observe
(1) that this promise is made to Abraham long before he was circumcised.
(2) It is a promise of a blessing for the Gentile nations through him.
(3) It is a promise of Christ, and hence the gospel in promise before the law existed.
Then Gentile believers are blessed as believing Abraham was blessed. See verse 6.
Having just shown that believers through Christ are justified, he next shows that all under the law are in condemnation. It is written. See Deut 27:26. Compare Rom 3:19, 20. Not only those under the law fail of justification, but the curse rests upon them, for all fail to obey all the things in the law. See Rom 3:23.
To seek righteousness by the law is also contrary to the prophets, for Habakkuk 2:4 says that the just shall live by faith, not by the works of the law.
The law is not of faith. Is not a system of faith, but proclaims life by doing the law, rather than by faith. The quotation is from Lev 18:5. But since none can keep it perfectly, all are under the curse (verse 10).
Christ has redeemed us from the curse. From the curse of the law Christ hath redeemed us by suffering for us. Being made a curse for us. He took our curse on himself and suffered in our stead. For it is written. In Deut 21:23. Compare Matt 20:28; 1 Tim 2:6; 1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; Titus 2:14, etc.
Christ took the curse upon himself that we might be blessed with the believing Abraham (verse 6). Hence Gentiles who believe have the promise of justification, and of the Spirit. Compare verses 2 and 5. There it is shown that the Spirit came by the faith, rather than by the law.
A covenant, or agreement, among men, after it is ratified, cannot be annulled or altered without the consent of both parties.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promise made. The covenant with its promises was made with Abraham and his seed. There were promises spoken on several occasion. See Gen 12:3, 7; 13:16; 15:5; 17:7. The promises of the covenant were to the seed, as well as to Abraham, and hence did not terminate with his death. He said not, To seeds, as of many, but... to thy seed. This passage has excited much criticism. Many have thought that Paul made a grammatical mistake. Even Luther says: “My dear brother Paul, this argument won't stick.” The criticism is that sperma, the Greek word rendered “seed,” is a collective noun and may include all Abraham's descendants. Paul elsewhere shows that he knew just the meaning of sperma (Rom 4:18; 9:7), but the question here is not one of grammar, but of spiritual meaning. Paul does not mean that sperma (seed) excludes plurality, but that it implies unity. Not the word “children” or “descendants” is used. This would embrace the children of Ishmael, of Esau, and of Keturah. But there is a seed to whom the promise is given; a seed that embraces many, but is one. That seed is Christ the head, and all in Christ. See 1 Cor 12:12. The whole spiritual seed of Abraham concentrates in Christ. The promise is to Christ and all in Christ. Paul understood Greek as well as his critics, and also knew what he meant.
He returns to the argument introduced in verse 15. That the covenant. He has just shown that this covenant was not only with Abraham, but with his spiritual seed, and hence must continue in effect until Christ came. Hence the law, made over four centuries after the covenant was given, could not dis-annul it. The covenant made with Abraham is still in force. Four hundred and thirty years. According to Usher's Chronology, the promise was made to Abraham in b.c. 1921; the law was given at Sinai b.c. 1491; the interval is 430 years. But some have held that Paul made a mistake because in Exod 12:12 it said that Hebrews were in Egypt 430 years. The matter is easily explained. The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament is the one usually followed by Christ and his apostles. Its translators, following the Hebrew copy before them, render Exodus 12:12, “The sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, was four hundred and thirty years.” Whether this is right, or our Hebrew text, does not matter. Paul gave the usually received statement. His point was simply that the law was given many ages after the covenant with Abraham.
If the inheritance be of the law. Law and promise exclude each other. The legal heir receives his inheritance by law, if there be no will; one not a legal heir may receive it by the promise of a will. The inheritance was given to Abraham by promise; and ours depends on the promise.
Wherefore then serve the law? What was its object then? It was added in order to restrain transgressions among men, and especially among the fleshly race of Abraham, until the promised seed, to whom the promise was made, even Christ, should come. It was therefore only to last until that seed came. Ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Communicated through the means of angels to the mediator between Israel and God; that is, to Moses. See Acts 7:53; Heb 2:2; Deut 33:2, and Deut 5:5.
Now a mediator is not a mediator of one. A mediator implies two parties between whom he acts. But God is one. The idea is that when God makes a promise by his sovereign power no mediator is required. God acts alone. Thus it was when the promises were made to Abraham. God, too, is One, the same, always, and hence the law is not due to a change of the divine mind.
Is the law then against the promises? No. The law does not give life at all. If it did, and could impart righteousness, then it might be said to be opposed to the promises of righteousness by faith.
But none became righteous by the law. The Scriptures place all under sin that the promise should be to them only who believe through Christ. All hope is in the gospel. See Rom 11:32.
Kept under the law. Before the faith was revealed we were confined under the law, as it were in prison, in a state of preparation for the faith that was to be revealed. The law was “added” (see verse 19) in order to do a work of preparation until the gospel was revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster. “Tutor,” in the Revision. In Roman families a trusted slave, a pedagogue, had charge of children, preserved them from harm, and took them to school. The law is such a tutor; not a schoolmaster, but a guide to lead us to the school of Christ. There we are justified by faith.
After that faith is come. When once brought to Christ we do not need the tutor any longer. We are no longer under him.
He now shows how their faith acted to bring them into Christ. As Dr. Schaff says, “Faith always implies surrender.” Faith leads to obedience. The believer is baptized into Christ, and being found in him has put on Christ. Being in Christ, a member of his body, a part of the Son, the believer becomes a child of God. Compare Rom 6:3; 1 Cor 10:2, and Matt 28:19. “The baptized is surrounded by Christ and covered by his merits.... The figure of putting on Christ as a new dress afterwards gave rise to the custom of wearing white baptismal garments.”--Schaff, in loco.
There is neither Jew nor Greek. In Christ the old, worldly lines of separation are all blotted out. All one. One person, as it were, “one new man” (Eph 2:15), of which Christ is the head. All, without regard to race, blended into one whole.
As Christ is the seed of Abraham, all in Christ become the spiritual seed of Abraham, and hence heirs of the promise to Abraham's seed.
In the study of this Letter, it is well to keep in mind that the term faith is used by Paul often in a sense that means more than the act of belief. When it is put in contrast with the law, it is used in the sense of The Faith, that is, The Gospel. It comprehends what is believed, believing, and the results of believing. The fact that the apostles so often places the definite article before the word faith, so that in the Greek he speaks of The Faith, leaves no doubt of his meaning. It is unfortunate that the translators have obscured the meaning by omitting the article. Thus in this chapter the Greek gives the definite article before the word (the faith) five times where it is omitted in the Common Version. The examples are verse 14, verse 23 (twice), verses 25 and 26.
—People's New Testament, The