Update 4.3
Another first this week: speaking in brother Craig’s God’s Economy class.
In God’s economy class, we covered Galatians 3, which talks about faith replacing the law. In Galatians 3, the Galatian believers were led astray to go back to the Old Testament law. Therefore, in this chapter, Paul is leading the bewitched Galatians back to faith in Christ.
Gal. 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed crucified?
Gal. 3:2 This only I wish to learn from you, Did you receive the Spirit out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith?
I was impressed that now, faith has replaced the law.
Gal. 3:25 But since faith has come, we are no longer under a child-conductor.
It was not God’s original intention to put man under the law. God’s original intention was to bless man with the promise to Abraham, which in the New Testament is fulfilled by the Spirit. However, because of man’s fall, God had to preserve His people by giving them a child-conductor, some regulation, which is the law. Actually, the law was not given for man to keep; rather, the function of the law was firstly to expose man of his shortcomings and sin, and secondly, to lead man back to Christ. It is by faith in Christ that man is justified, not by the works of law.
Gal. 3:5 He therefore who bountifully supplies to you the Spirit and does works of power among you, does He do it out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith?
The Old Testament type of the trespass offering shows us the principle of faith by which God operates. According to the law in the Old Testament, if an Israelite committed a sin, he had to bring a trespass offering to the altar in order to restore his fellowship with God. The blood shed by the offering fulfilled God’s righteous requirement for the shedding of blood as the price for the sin. However, even in this Old Testament picture, God is pointing to faith as the principle by which He operates. The Israelite had to have faith the offering he brought would satisfy God and that his sins were forgiven. By faith, the Israelite could come back to God and have fellowship with Him.
In the same way, we no longer live by the law, but by faith. Because of our sinful nature, we are utterly incapable of keeping the law. Our incapability to keep the law brings us under the curse of death.
Gal. 3:10 For as many as are of the works of law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law to do them.”
However, because Christ has come and has shed His blood for us, accomplishing redemption for us, and satisfied God’s righteous requirement, we have been brought out from under the curse of the law. We simply need to believe in this Christ who has paid the price of all our sins.
Gal. 3:13a Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf…
In countless ways, we do not measure up to the standard of the law. However, when we are exposed by the law, we should not feel condemned because it is not our job to fulfill it. Rather, we should simply thank it for exposing us and bid it farewell as we turn back to Christ, who is the unique One who can and has fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law.
So many times, the law exposes me, causing me to condemn myself and bring out my good flesh that desires to keep the law and try harder to keep it. However, by doing so, I am keeping myself under the curse of the law. I was enlightened to see that I just need to have faith in Christ. Instead of looking at my poor, pitiful, and failing self, I need to turn to my wonderful Christ, take His blood, have faith in its efficacy, and enjoy freedom in Him!
Pics !
