When Paul established the churches in Galatia, the sole foundation was Jesus Christ. He didn't teach them the distinction between Jewish Talmudic Law versus Moses; they didn't need any part of it. Surely, the Law of Moses had its place in redemptive history, but that place had nothing to do with spiritual rebirth among Gentiles. Paul explains why he didn't teach Moses. At the same time, he dismisses the Judaizers, who were simply Pharisees claiming to be Christians. Let them claim the Talmud is the Law of Moses; the Covenant of Moses was closed and Judaism was dead.
You can almost hear Paul's anguish as he cries out in sorrow at the folly of the Galatians. The very foundation is Christ crucified. Paul's initial message was to draw clearly the picture of Jesus on the Cross. They heard that message. In hearing, the Spirit of God awakened their dead souls, and they received new spirits. Having crossed over from the death of the flesh, into the life of the Spirit, were they going to desert Heaven? Having nailed their old lives to the Cross, having left behind all their worldly desires and plans, and suffering the pain of that transition, how could anyone want to go back to death?
The Jews made much of being "Children of Abraham." It was a lie they told themselves, since Abraham was saved by faith, several centuries before Moses was even born. The only way to be a child of Abraham was to adopt his faith. The Covenant of Abraham was about promises which no man could see with human eyes, but could only be embraced and claimed by spiritual eyes of faith, by absolute trust in the God who promised. God had promised this covenant would be extended to all the world, not just Jews. Being born of Abraham's DNA was no basis for any claim to his covenant. That covenant was available only by faith, not as a physical birthright. Did we not see where Isaac was required to have faith, and could not pass it on to his firstborn in the flesh? It could only be claimed by the son who had faith. Thus, all Jews must also come by faith, or they are excluded from covenant kinship with Abraham.
Indeed, clinging to the Law itself guarantees only one thing: You stand before God accursed. The Law demanded full compliance. No man can do it. Even if a man could keep the whole Law perfectly, it would not save his soul, for that is only by faith. The only blessing the Law could bring is in this life. The Law was wholly rooted in this world, and to pass into the Spirit Realm is possible only by spiritual power, the power of faith. Jesus Christ absorbed into His Person the full curse of the Law, breaking its power to bind the conscience. At the same time, he renewed the old Covenant of Abraham, the old original covenant of faith. All covenants in Scripture terminate in Christ in one sense or another. The Covenant of Moses was fulfilled and closed, but the spiritual covenant is given fresh life. For Gentiles, the only path has always been the path of Abrahamic faith, since the Law of Moses applied only to Jews in Canaan during that limited time period.
We know in this world, even when a covenant is between mere men, it is sworn before some deity; no one on earth has authority to set it aside. The Covenant of Abraham was a singular covenant, and could only be passed down a single line of descent. That line terminated in Christ. In times past, only those looking forward to the Final Revelation in faith could be included; its provisions were spiritual, not worldly. Now, we here on the other side of Christ must join directly to Him to be included in these spiritual provisions. The Law of Moses, coming much later, did not abrogate the Covenant of Abraham. It was eternal, not of this world. This spiritual inheritance cannot possibly be connected to a law of human performance. The spiritual provisions of Abraham's Covenant were based on a promise of something which could never be touched by human hands, versus that of Moses, which was entirely a matter of human performance for an earthly reward.
So if the Law was so powerless, just why did God command these laws for Israel? The world is fallen, and that includes Israel. Had there been no law requiring a human performance, no one would have realized they were powerless to please God. The Law of Moses provided a concrete example of what faith in God would bring under that situation, in that nation. It was given by a God too holy to even tell the Law to humans, but had to be passed via angels. From there, it had to come through a human mediator. It was not a law from Moses, but he was merely the mediator between a holy God and sinful men. The Law scarcely restrained Israel's sinful nature, but even her failure emphasized the need for a faith like Abraham's to be fulfilled in Christ. The Law was a mere makeshift, a temporary fix, providing the requisite background for the Son of God. Even the Gentiles were bound under the Law of Noah, but God had a special plan for Israel, requiring a more specific covenant of law.
The Jews never seemed to understand the Law was a passing phase. When they conjured up the Talmud, they were utterly lost to the Law and its purpose. They were unable to see they had to leave the Law behind to embrace Christ. Did the Law hinder Israel embracing the Messiah? Hardly. It was the Talmud which kept them from the Law, and thus from Christ. But nothing in the Law promised eternal life. It did not create righteousness, merely exemplified it within limited circumstances. The Law and the Prophets were written to ensure a revelation of God's holiness and His demands for all humanity. Without a consciousness of sin, no one can receive the forgiveness in Christ promised to Abraham, which he could embrace only by faith. He was uniquely ready for such faith in his day. To make it available to the rest of the world required a more universal revelation, the gospel of Christ. Spreading His message made faith open to all. The path to Him lead through Israel and the Law of Moses. Jesus was the Teacher of Truth; the Law was like the school bus, or the escort who made sure the students got to school. Once under the School Master's care, the escort and the bus were dismissed. His one lesson was faith as the one approach to God.
The only way to be a child of God is through the One Son of God, by means of the spiritual embrace of faith. If you have immersed yourself in Christ, you bear His identity before God. In His presence, that is the only identity which matters. No other variation which marks human existence matters. You are in Christ, or you are damned. Only in Christ can anyone claim to be Children of Abraham, to inherit the spiritual blessings of a spiritual promise.
Thus, Paul paints a stark contrast between spirit and flesh. The Law was all about the flesh, and about the things of this world. It was but a shadow of the higher reality of God's holiness. Abraham never gained anything he was promised, if we measure by worldly standards. Yet Abraham was the wealthiest of all humans in his time, for his possession was spiritual, a promissory note written on his eternal soul. It's value was measured entirely by spiritual means, and could only be passed by faith to another soul. It's meaning was discernible only in the spirit, for it promised a final redemption of souls by faith in Christ.
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Ed Hurst
updated 10 October 2010
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