Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The inferiority of Law compared to Promise



We must also note that Paul added two further elements in explanation of the purpose of the Law, i.e. it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator”. (Gal. 3:19) This additional clause is designed to show the inherent inferiority of the law in terms of the way it was given and administered, that is, through angels and a mediator. Paul’s meaning is clear: the law is not on the same par with the covenant of promise (that is the Abrahamic covenant) not only because it was chronologically limited but also because it was handed down by angels with a man acting as a go-between. The Hebrew text of Exodus chapter nineteen, which contains the scriptural account of the giving of the Law, does not refer to angels, but it does describe Mount Sinai as surrounded by thunder, lightening, a thick cloud, and billows of fire. (Exod. 19:16–19) Later Old Testament texts, notably the Septuagintal version of Deut 33:2 and Psalm 68:18 interpret these natural phenomena to mean that a large number of angels, the fiery hosts of heaven, accompanied God in his giving of the law at Sinai. The participation of the angels in the giving of the law was not merely a piece of pious Jewish folklore, for it is confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament[1]. Paul accepted it and repeated it not for the purpose of enhancing the law by associating it with the glory of angels but rather to indicate how superior ‘promise’ is to ‘Law’ since the latter required a creaturely mediation.


    The Law was not only mediated by angels but also Moses. The people themselves asked for a mediator. They said to Moses, you go to the Lord and relay to us what He says - we dare not come close. And in Pauline theology, Moses the mediator stands in contrast to Christ. As Paul explains more fully in 2 Cor. 3:7–18, the ministry or covenant negotiated by Moses was characterized by death and condemnation and it is “fading away”; on the other hand, the new covenant that Christ has ushered in is marked by life, justification, and a radiance of “ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”


Paul did not intend to denigrate Moses as a person but rather to show again the transitory and totally inadequate character of the Law as a system of salvation. The Epistle to the Hebrews picks up on one of Paul’s favorite themes, that of servant and son, and applies them to Moses and Christ in precisely this way: “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house … but Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house” (Heb 3:5–6;). But there is more: Paul gives another purpose to the giving of the Law. It is tied up with the phrase, “it was added because of transgressions”. In other words it was to bring the realization that sin was exceedingly sinful. Those that break God’s law will suffer the curse. It was the case with Adam. He sinned and suffered the curse. But where there is no law there is no imputation of sin.[2]

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[1] cf. Acts 7:38, 53; Heb 2:2
[2] Rom. 5.13

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Purpose of the Law

The Mosaic code with its commandments and judgments was designed, among other things, to be a finger-post to point the nation of Israel to their Messiah. Since Israel was to be a theocracy, incorporated into the code were the regulations regarding worship. There were instructions for the erection of a Sanctuary, the ordination of a priesthood, a description of the offerings they were to bring, and a diary of festivals that were to be celebrated when Israel was to come before the Lord and acknowledge His mercy and His grace. Besides the immediate purpose of regulating the worship of the individual Israelite and the nation as a whole, these also had another purpose. They too were to prepare them for their Messiah.

The Time Limit on the Law of Moses


If the Law was added until the seed came as Paul said, then this means that the Law had a limited duration. Just as it had a point of origin on Mount Sinai, so also it had a point of termination—Mount Calvary. ‘Seed’ is used as a name for Christ, echoing Paul’s earlier identification.  “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ”. (Gal. 3:16) So the age of the Law is over. This truth is a part of Paul’s theology. The texts, “you are not under law”, (Rom. 6:14) and “you … have become dead to the law through the body of Christ”. (Rom. 7:4) encapsulate his teaching on the subject. School is out – Messiah has come – childish things are to be put away. What this means is: “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. (Rom. 10:4) There was nothing wrong with the Law. The law was “holy, and the commandment holy and just and good”. (Rom. 7:12) But salvation could not come by the Law, because no-one could keep it.


Again, I repeat, the age of Law is over. So Paul interpreted the law eschatologically in terms of (i) its fulfillment and (ii) its cancellation, in the Messianic mission of Jesus. The Messiah “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us”. He took “it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross”. (Col 2:14)



This section of Galatians is brim full of this idea that Christ’s work on the cross brought an end to the Mosaic Law. Words like ‘until’; ‘before’; ‘no longer’; ‘formerly’; ‘but now’. Things changed with the coming of the Messiah and His death by crucifixion. To repeat, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. (Rom. 10:4)


While the Abrahamic covenant is eternal, the Mosaic covenant was for a particular purpose and ceased when that purpose matured.

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Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

First let me apologise - it has been several weeks since this blog was updated. This is because I have been unwell - but I am back at my desk now and can continue with our studies.


The Messiah and the Mosaic Covenant


When we considered the Mosaic Covenant we made some suggestions as to the purpose that God had in mind when He offered and signed it. But that was an examination of the subject from an Old Testament viewpoint. Now we are in the dispensation of grace we must consider if we have more light on the subject. The answer is ‘Yes’. If we ask, ‘what was His purpose?’ we have answers readily provided by the apostle Paul, a man personally instructed in the ways of God, for he asked and answered that very question.

“What purpose then does the law serve?” (Gal. 3:19) His immediate answer is in two parts. (1) It was added because of transgressions, and (2) till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made.


The Law was added because of transgressions


As the context in Galatians makes clear, the law Paul is referring to, is the Law of Moses, which was ‘added’ 430 years after the Abrahamic covenant. It was not added to alter the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant, but rather added in order to accomplish some supplementary purpose. This meaning is further clarified when we look at the parallel verse in Rom. 5:20: “The law was added so that the trespass might increase.” In the Roman letter the word for ‘added’ (pareisēlthen) means literally “came in by a side road.”  The main road is the covenant of promise—inviolate, irrevocable. The law does not lead away from the main road, but leads back to it. It points to the same destination.

The phrase, “because of transgressions,” can mean one of two things depending on whether the preposition ‘charin’, translated either “because,” or “on account of,” is given a causal (looking backward) or telic (looking forward) force. In the former case the Law would mainly have a preventive function. It this instance it would mean the Law was designed to curb or hold in check misdeeds that were already being done, in other words, to keep a bad situation from getting even worse. But if “because” is given a telic meaning, the opposite would hold true. The Law would have a provocative purpose, its function being not to prevent sins but actually to increase them, in other words, to make an already bad situation much, much worse.


The preventive and provocative functions correspond to the civil and spiritual uses of the law as developed by Luther. Luther suggested that God ordained civil laws for the purpose of restraining evildoers. Just as a rope or chain prevents a wild animal from attacking an innocent bystander, so too the law with its “thou shalt nots” and penal code prevents sinful humanity from going on a rampage and completely destroying itself. The civil use of the law helps to sustain human society. Luther referred to the state as the “left hand of God”. But as important as the civil use of the law may be for the ordering of human society, it is at best a stopgap measure completely unable to render one righteous before God. The chief and proper use of the law, Luther said, is its provocative function, actually to increase transgressions, to make a terrible situation even more desperate, and thus to reveal to human beings their sin, blindness, misery, wickedness, ignorance, hate and contempt of God, which would ultimately lead to death, hell, judgment, and the well-deserved wrath of God. As Paul wrote, “… by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20); it was added “because of transgressions” (Gal.3.19).

The Law was added until the Seed should come


The second main reason that Paul identified, is its use to prepare the Israelite nation for their Messiah.  Paul wrote – it was added until “the Seed should come to whom the promise was made” (Gal.3.19).


Now the giving of the Law was strategically located at the birth of the nation - at the time when they enjoyed full freedom from slavery and when they had tasted the full effect of the power of God. They had been removed from the immediate influence of Egypt, especially the idolatry, and were, at that time, most open to new ideas. In other words, as a nation, they were in their infancy, and they could accept God as their Father, indeed God said, Israel is My son, My firstborn” (Exod. 4:22). And like an infant they had to trust God to feed them and to lead them. This idea of Israel being a nation in its infancy is very important. As such it was necessary for it to be placed under a tutor, and the Law is described as such, a schoolmaster that had been commissioned to fulfill one main purpose - to lead them to Christ, their Messiah, the ‘Seed’. All activities, all lessons, all events, indeed the sum total of their education was to be directed to that purpose (Gal.3.24).


Here is a nation that is to be trained. The whole penal, social and sacerdotal code was designed to impress upon them that (i) sin brings punishment; (ii) social injustice will not be tolerated (iii) but God is merciful and the mercy of God is always available. The calendar was so ordered that every member of every generation received full instruction on how to be a member of God’s society. Moreover, if they learned their lessons well, they would be permitted to be instruments in God’s hand, to demonstrate to the other nations of the world, the benefit of being subject to the rule of the beneficent God of Israel.


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