Sunday, May 27, 2012

Part LXXVII on The Study of Galatians

Galatians 3:25
"But after that faith (way) is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."  Again we're going to ask you to mentally put the word "way" after faith. Being saved by faith + nothing in what God has said. Once we come to that place in God's economy in this progressive revelation. Now then the Hebrews are no longer under a schoolmaster, in the corral or under a tutor, teachers guidance, as the example of the statutes and ordinances were. Allow us to explain schoolmaster here. The schoolmaster that Paul refers to is not in the Jewish economy, but rather the Greek and the Roman. And what the Greeks and Romans would do is hire a slave or a trustworthy servant, and that servant/slave was under the demands of the father to raise that child and tutor that child so that at some designated point out in the future, somewhere probably between the ages of 16 - 30 years of age, the tutor would be able to say, "Master this young man is now ready to come in and work right alone side of you in your business. He's got everything that he needs to know. He's been well-tutored, and is prepared." This was all in place until Christ came on the scene for He was its completion or the fulfillment of the Law. He operated in full compliance of and to the requirements of the Law. Remember He told John the Baptist that they were to fulfill all righteousness, this they did and He continues on to do.


Now when that father has agreed that indeed the son is ready then an adoption was instituted. It was not like we think of an adoption of taking a child from some other union, and legally bring him into another. That's not what the Scripture word adoption means. It meant to be placed as a son in full operation of the fathers business, on an equal basis with him in responsibility, and function and every other way. Now that's the term schoolmaster that Paul is using here and what it means. This servant who had been hired to bring this child to the place where he could step right in and work with the father. The early church used baptism as a means of adoption, to make that one a child, now get this; a god-children. All right do you get the picture? That's what the Law was intended to do for Israel. 


It was to prepare them and bring them to the place that when the Messiah would come they were ready. And in faith they could have said, "Yes," and a few of them did, but for the most part the nation rejected their Messiah, the god-child. They had that opportunity to believe everything that Christ was, had they been ready for it, but they were not. And so now it comes into our Gentile economy for us and it's still a valid concept, that the law was given to prepare everything for the coming of the Messiah, that He could fulfill the work of Cross, as a god-child. Yes, He had to die, and He had to be buried, He had to be raised from the dead for our justification. By way of God adopting us as His God-child. But now we see the Law has been satisfied, it has been completely paid in full through the work of the Cross, and we now enter in by faith + nothing. The Law has done it's job, it's done, it's been crucified, and set off the scene. Isn't that beautiful? YES. And all in the per-determinate counsel of God. Those who come into this faith relationship have in fact become God-children. This by way of the cross of Christ and His last supper.


Galatians 3:26
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."  So we're children of God not by keeping the Law, or the observing of sabbath days or feast days or observing any particular holidays but by faith in Christ Jesus. Oh listen, how many millions of so called Christians are flying in the face of this verse and saying, "Yeah but I've got to do this or that. I think, we also need to do this." But you see this verse like all Paul's verses include none of that. We become the children of God by only one thing and one thing only, and that is by "Faith in the finished work of Christ." And that of course is what Paul is implying here. Paul never speaks that just believing that He was the Messiah. That was back in Peter's gospel and his domain, that was before these inspirations of revelations (divine illumination) were given to Paul. When Paul speaks by faith in Christ he's talking about faith in that finished work of redemption. "The fact that Christ died for us, was buried and rose from the grave for us, and our having walked through it and that for salvation." Then by way of divine illumination we're shown that God credits us as having been in Christ, during the whole operation of the sufferings of Christ.


That reminds us of another thing many believe. And that is that we're against the forces of Satan, and it's just about to drive us and them up the wall. If we have our mind in the wrong place, submitted to God. We then have to put our mind on the power of the resurrection. And all of this demonic stuff will flee from us. If we can just get our mind on the power of His resurrection and forget about the demons. Beloved do you know that Paul never once as far as we can tell even uses that word. If he does we want you to show us. He never once used the word demons as being active in the life of a believer, but rather all he can talk about is that wonderful power of Christ's resurrection.


Galatians 3:26
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."  As we mentioned when Paul speaks of faith in Christ he's speaking of that whole finished work of our redemption, which is faith in His death, His shed blood, His burial, and His resurrection into His ascension. Paul stresses constantly the power of His resurrection.

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