Galatians 3:27-29 - Baptized Into Christ

Paul views the coming of Christ as the coming of a new era or the ushering in of the end of all things. But perhaps it would be better said that he views it as the ushering in of the new era. The old era of Adam and Moses is coming to a close and the age of the second Adam has come. To put it another way, the kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdom of our Lord and Christ.

Remember how in Mark's gospel he represents the preaching of Jesus and the ministry of Jesus as an invasion of the Kingdom, or the King announcing his Kingdom? What Paul is saying here in Galatians fits that dynamic.

What he has been explaining throughout this chapter is that what we see in the Church is the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham. Jesus is that promised offspring through whom the nations of the world would be blessed. The Galatians believing and being brought into the kingdom is a part of the fulfillment of that promise.

The Law of Moses was not in contention to the promises made to Abraham. Nor did the Law of Moses fulfill the promises made to Abraham. Nor did the Law of Moses replace the promises made to Abraham. The Law of Moses served to help bring those promises made to Abraham about. The Law could never bring life, not because of any problem with the Law, but because of the problem with us. As we have previously discussed, the Mosaic covenant served a purpose within the Abrahamic covenant, but now that covenant is coming to fulfillment in Christ and Moses has served his purpose. The theological argument Paul makes with the Judaizers is one of covenant priority. Abraham trumps Moses. And Abraham is fulfilled in Christ and the Church.

In verse 27 Paul mentions baptism--the only time he does so in this letter. We examine that in this Bible study from four viewpoints. Then we conclude by considering the ramifications of this passage to our views of Israel and the Church. The Church is not a parenthesis in redemptive history. The Church is the fulfillment of redemptive history. The Church is not a separate program God is doing, distinct from his program with Israel and existing alongside it. The Church is what Israel has become since the coming of Christ. The Church has not replaced Israel any more than the frog replaced a tadpole. The Church is what Israel was always intended to become.

The audio to this bible study is linked below. I hope you will take the time to listen and think about these things. God bless.



Click here:  Galatians 3:27-29 - Baptized Into Christ



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Galatians 3:23-27 - The Role of the Law

How do we understand the Mosaic covenant and its relationship to the people of God in the New Testament? That's the thrust of this bible study from last Wednesday night where we covered Galatians 3:23-27.

To try to understand what Paul is saying here we went back and reviewed the covenant of grace in its various administrations beginning with the proto-evangelion in Genesis 3:15 and continuing through Jeremiah 31 and Christ at the cross. But how does Moses fit into that?

Part of the problem in Galatians that Paul has been working to solve is the seeming conflict between the Abrahamic unconditional covenant of grace and the Mosaic conditional covenant of law.

What Paul has done to reconcile these two seemingly contradictory things is to teach us the true purpose of the Mosaic covenant. According to Paul, the Mosaic covenant served a specific and limited purpose within the framework of the Abrahamic covenant. In other words, Moses served Abraham. This is what we talked about last week.

There was never salvation in the law. There was never life in the law. The law condemned us and killed us. And according to Paul that was its purpose all along. In an ironic twist, then, the law becomes grace to us because it shows us our shortcomings, teaches us our true nature, and points us to Christ. And now that we are in Christ we are no longer under the law.

But does that mean we no longer have to obey God's moral precepts? Are the Ten Commandments antiquated and obsolete? We discuss all that, as well as the continuing role of the Law in the life of a believer, in this bible study. Below you will find a link to the audio recording of it. Just click the link, a new window will open on your browser and you will be able to listen to the Bible study from your computer or other device. God bless.


Click here: Galatians 3:23-27 - The Role of the Law


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