Power to Become the Sons of God

John 1:10-13

Introduction

Last week we considered the implications of John 1:34, where John the Baptist declared Jesus to be “the Son of God.” We extended our focus to include the fact that He is the “Only begotten Son of God, and what that means. But there are many references to other persons being called the sons of God.

In Job, chapters one and two, we see a group of persons (evidently the angelic host) who are called the “sons of God,” and Satan was among them. In Job 38, God says that (earlier) at the Creation of our World, “all the Sons of God shouted for joy!” (That actually gives us a hint as to when Satan must have fallen into perdition: if “All” the Sons of God shouted for joy at the creation, but by Genesis 3, Lucifer had become the adversary, Satan, then his fall into sin and rebellion must have been between those two times.

In Genesis 6:2, we have a somewhat obscure reference to some persons also called the “sons of God,” and whoever they were, it seems that they were doing something bad. We aren’t going there, today, except to point out that the term “Sons of God” is not always in reference to “His cherished offspring.”

When Jesus cast out evil spirits (demons, devils, unclean spirits as they are variously called) they frequently spoke and called Him by name, recognizing Him as Jesus of Nazareth, “thou Son of the most high God” (Mark 5:7) They obviously knew the difference between themselves (who had once been numbered among the “sons of God,”) and Jesus, THE Son of the most high God.

So, it seems a good idea that we learn the difference as well. Last week we saw that Jesus is the Eternal Son, God the Son, fully God, and specifically, the Creator of all the universe, both physical and spiritual. He is the Creator God, but eternally existent as God the Son. So, with that as our starting point, and, knowing that Jesus, in His earthy ministry was the “Only Begotten Son:” born the Son of God, lets address this passage where we are told there is a way for us to “become the sons of God.”

Unpacking the passage

John 1:10-13

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

¹¹He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

¹²But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

¹³Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

This is what we call a “packed” verse: there is a lot there, and we want to “unpack” at least some of it. I don’t speak or read Greek beyond just a few words, so I have to laboriously “look up” any words for which I need better understanding. The words I would want to research in this passage would be at least the following:

His own…who were they?
Power…what sort of power?
To Become…how? (Transformation, evolution, what?)
Sons…what kind of “sons?”

“His Own”

So, the first one is pretty easy: Jesus said repeatedly that He had come primarily to reach the Jews. They were the children of the Promise, and Jeusus, the fulfillment of that Promise, was now among them, if only they would receive Him. But, as a nation, they rejected Him. There were thousands who believed in Him, many of whom followed Him and worshipped Him. To those who did receive Him; to them is directed the rest of this passage.

“Power”

There are at least three different kinds of “power” listed in the scripture. The most common, of course, is the one we usually mean: “ability,” raw power to accomplish great things. The Greek word in that case would be “dunamis,” from which we derive our English words “dynamo” and “dynamic.” But that is not the word, here.

Another would be the word “kratos,” meaning rulership, or dominion. This is the word from which we derive our English words, “autocrat, plutocrat, aristocrat, bureaucrat, and democrat, or democracy.” But that is not the word used, here, either.

The third is the Greek word “exousia,” meaning “authority.” This is the kind of power Jesus exhibited when he calmed the storm. There was no “force” exerted by which he stopped the movement of millions of tons of moving water, nor halted the moving masses of wind. He simply spoke and the Creation obeyed. In fact, that is the same “power” by which he originally created the physical universe: He spoke it into existence, according to Hebrews 11:3. He willed it to be so, and it was so. It is interesting and a little distressing to note that we humans and the fallen angels are the only creatures to ever have disobeyed the will of the Creator.

By the way, this is also the word Jesus used when He said, “all Power is given unto Me in heaven and earth: go ye therefore…” The word is “exousia.” Authority. And that is the word here in John 1:12. To those who receive Him he gives the authority to do…what?

“To Become”

There are lots of ways to become something different than one already is: one can grow up into adulthood, physically, so that, physically at least, one is no longer a child. We can choose to learn, to be educated to become skilled or knowledgeable in a given field.

A caterpillar will “metamorphose” into a butterfly or a moth. They do not simply “grow” wings and legs: they build a cocoon around themselves, and a mysterious thing occurs. Their entire body dissolves into a “living soup” which is then reconstructed into a completely new body. Metamorphosis means a change of body. Meta = change. Morphe = form or body. (Interestingly, the word “Metanoia” is translated “repentance,” and it literally means “change of mind.”)

When Jesus became a man, he was born into the human race just as we have been. In doing so, He became a “Son of Man.” But, for us to become children of God, we must be reborn. How do we know that?

Jesus said so: He told Nicodemus that unless a man was born again, he could not see the Kingdom of God. And, interestingly, the word translated “become” in John 1:12 is the Greek word, “genesthai,” which is a form of the infinitive verb “gennao,” meaning, “to be born.” (This was an “aha!” moment for me when I first discovered it!)

So, what we just read is that to everyone who receives Jesus (as opposed to rejecting Him) He gives the authority to be born into His family! We are not the children of God by our natural birth: Paul says (in Ephesians 2:3) that we are by nature the children of wrath. In John 8:44, Jesus told the Jews more pointedly that, “Ye are of your father, the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” And he told Nicodemus that he had to be born again to change that status. And John is telling us how it is done!

“Sons…what kind?”

Last week we found that there are three different words translated “sons” or “children,” in the New Testament, and that they are not the same. The word used regarding Jesus, in every case, and regarding others in some cases, is the word “huios”(singular) or “huioi” (plural) meaning a fully mature, and universally recognized heir: Not just “offspring.”

Another, less common, is the Greek word “nepioi” meaning “babes…not able to talk yet” which is not translated “sons,” but rather “babes” or “children” in the context that we are not to remain “children” but are to grow up.

But the one used in this case (and in most cases, in regard to believers) is the word “teknoi,” meaning, “offspring: born-ones.” It literally says that if we receive Jesus for who He really is, the master, and the Savior, the Messiah, then He gives us the “authority” to be “re-born” as the “offspring” of God. How do I know that it is by faith? Verse 12 goes on to say it is to those who “believe on His name.” It means those who trust in Him as their Savior. Acts 4:12 says that there is no “…other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.” Acts 16:31 says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…”

Why does it matter “what kind of son” is in view, here? Because, in the first place, it was possible for someone to be declared an heir who was not the offspring of the one whose heir they had become. (Abram complained that he had no son and that the heir of his house was one of his servants, Eliezer of Damascus.) We will be joint-heirs with Jesus, as we discussed last week, but we are already born again as God’s legitimate “offspring:” His children by rebirth.

Even if you knew nothing about any of the things we are talking about today, if you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, you were born again that moment, as a legitimate child of God. You are His offspring. Yes, you will also be His Heir, joint-heir with Jesus, and positionally, you are already a Son, and a joint-heir with Jesus. Ephesians 2:6 says you are already seated in the Heavenlies with Him.

Galatians 4:6, 7 states that “because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” This is our eternal position in Christ, even though we are not experiencing it yet.

But you are His precious child right now! You are free to experience that tender relationship with Him every moment. He loves you. He counts you as precious in His sight, and He is pleased with your toddling attempts to walk with Him. Psalm 103:13, 14 tells us that He understands our frailty, and He is compassionate toward our weakness, as a loving father is compassionate toward his little children.

He further clarifies our relationship, in John 1:13 by pointing out that it is not the natural birth in question, but rather, being born of God. (“…born, not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”) In some translations of the New Testament, it is referred to as being “born from above.”

Sons of God

So, what kind of sons have we become? We are certainly not among the angelic host. And we are in no danger of committing whatever sin the fallen angels committed that resulted in their eternal perdition. We are eternally God’s personal possession, and His holy offspring, whether we feel that way or not.

Obviously, we are also not in the same class as Jesus, who is the Only Begotten Son of God: there is only one of Him. But, He does say that we have been “begotten again”, and that we are His begotten children.

On the other hand, we are also not full-fledged heirs, able to command the elements or whatever things the full-grown heirs can do. The rest of humanity, let alone the rest of the physical creation, does not recognize us as being in authority. Why? Because we have not yet been elevated to that status, in the sense of being able to employ the authority of Sons. Paul explains, in Romans 8:23, that we will receive “the Adoption” (Greek “huiothesis” = placement of sons) when we receive our new bodies.

In the meantime, He calls us “teknoi” (plural) or “teknon” (singular.) We are God’s offspring, His children: and he calls us to behave as His children. He says that we have received the “Spirit of Adoption”, and that we are to act as the sons of God. Every single one of His “born-ones” will eventually receive full “Sonship,” and live through eternity as joint-heirs with Jesus. But we are called to live in the reality of our position in Christ today, acting as His Sons are expected to act.

Living as Sons

When I consider how a Son is supposed to live, and when I see Jesus as my eternal example, I am frequently overwhelmed, and think, “But I can’t! I can’t even come close to that standard!” That is why we have been given the “Spirit of Adoption.” Remember that the word “Adoption,” in Greek, is “huiothesis.” It means the “placement as sons.” If the Spirit who already placed you into the Body of Christ to begin with, according to 1^st Corinthians 12:13, is the same one who lives in you to see you grow in Christ, and function as a Son, then the promise that we can choose to walk in the Spirit by Faith makes perfect sense.

Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” 1^st John 1:7 echoes that promise, saying “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin.”

And that is the only way we can do it! This is not a “self-help” scheme: not a “do-it-yourself” project. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “Apart from Me ye can do nothing.” He meant it literally! The only way we can behave as the Sons we are called to be, is if we allow the Holy Spirit to do it through us. Philippians 2:13 says that “it is God who works in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Jesus, the eternal Son, lives in you, in the person of the Holy Spirit. He can behave perfectly as a son because He is The Son! And He desires to lead us to do the same, along with Him. He calls us to walk with Him. He calls us to work with Him. He calls us to serve and to suffer with Him.

Choose to walk by faith, allowing Jesus to live through you, so that your priorities become His priorities, and you embrace His agenda entirely. Feed on the Living Word as you learn from the Written Word, and see His nature begin to grow in you. This is the only way for us, as believers, to enjoy the Peace and Joy He has promised. It is also the only way we can bear the fruit in our lives that He created us to bear.

But, day by day, the choice is ours.

Lord Jesus, help us to see you before us as our example at all times, and grant that we may walk with you in obedience and faith. Teach us to live as your children, and let us grow to be Sons that honor you in every area of our lives.

November 23, 2017November 25, 2017

The Chastening of Sons

Hebrews 12:5-17

Introduction:

Last time, we talked about our need to recognize Jesus, not only as our Savior, but as our Example for living. We explored the command, “Looking unto Jesus”, and how it applies to our lives; and what it means to “lay aside every weight,” and every entanglement, the baggage from our past lives and the sins that so easily ensnare us.

We briefly began to consider the concept of the chastening of God, and how it relates to us as believers. But we didn’t go very far along that line of thought, and we need to pick it up where we left off, and give it a more full examination. The writer begins with an admonition that we remember whose sons we have become, and enter into the full relationship with Him, including the “chastening of sons”.

The Chastening of Sons

The Chastening of Sons is training…it is God shaping our lives so that we can enjoy a more productive life with him. It is “pruning” in some cases, to use a botanical reference, and “training up” in others. There are some branches that need to be trimmed back, or even removed, in order to maintain health in a fruit tree, while there are others that are healthy, but need to be re-directed —trained up—staked up, perhaps, so as to point them away from the ground, or away from another branch, so that they are not competing for light. We need to keep that in mind, as we see God changing the course of our lives.

⁵And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
⁶For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
⁷If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
⁸But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

The chastening which God brings in a believer’s life is not “punishment.” The punishment for sin—all of it— was taken by Jesus at the cross. What is left (remember: this is only for believers) is the “chastening of sons (huios–heirs).” When life is getting rough, at the very least, I can rejoice that I am still “on the team”. God never repents of his gift of salvation. The chastening of sons is only for sons, so whatever “rough stuff” the world goes through is not for their training, but is just incidental to living in the world. When we go through some of the very same things, God uses that experience to build us into his likeness. It may be the same things that unbelievers experience, or sometimes even worse, from our point of view (Think of Job’s experience!) But the issue is that we are in a different family than they are, and our Father chooses to allow these things in our life to teach us to trust and obey Him, as well as to encourage those around us.

The Rewards of Chastening

We discussed training, last time, as it applies to an athlete, and the discipline required to succeed: Let’s take this a step further, though: At the end of a sports season, when they hold an awards ceremony, the “Most Valuable Player” award, “Most Points Scored”; Most Improved Player” etc. are not given to everyone…they are awarded to the ones who earned that distinction in the mind of the judge—the coach. Do you see the parallel? The Judgment Seat of Christ is an awards ceremony. Our works will be judged, and rewards given according to our works. But the key issue will still be, “did they originate in Him?” Were they carried out by the Holy Spirit through us, or were they things we just did on our own? Not everyone will receive the same rewards, since not everyone chooses to submit themselves to God for his service. It has nothing to do with the greatness of the results.

Let’s compare two of God’s known servants:

Jeremiah preached faithfully, even choosing to go into captivity with the Jews who had rejected his words, so that he could continue ministering to them, though he personally was offered freedom by the Babylonian conquerors. During his entire ministry, so far as we know, only two people really believed him: Baruch, his assistant, and Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian eunuch who rescued him from the pit. I assume there were probably others, as well, but apparently very few.
Jonah, on the other hand, preached one sermon (evidently repeating the message over and over for three days) and roughly 120,000 people were saved…probably more. And he was angry with God at those results! He didn’t want them saved! They were his enemies, and he wanted them destroyed!

Now: which of those two had the better ministry? From the world’s perspective, Jeremiah was a loser from the beginning, and should perhaps have found something else to do. His “numbers” told a dismal tale, for sure. But he was chosen by God, and he was utterly faithful, while Jonah was disobedient: he wouldn’t preach at all until God forced him into submission, and he was still in rebellion even after the amazing results of his preaching.

The results in both cases were from God: He knew who would respond, and to what message. So, which do you think, by now, has received a better reward? When I read the parable of the talents, and see how the Lord said “well done, thou good and faithful servant”, I would have to conclude that Jeremiah was probably richly rewarded, while Jonah may not have had such a good reward. Of course, I don’t know anything about the rest of Jonah’s life, except that he was from Galilee, and that he was known as a prophet, not only in the situation with Nineveh. So perhaps he had a great reward as well. It is not mine to say…but from the only information we are given, Jonah was certainly not a good example of how to respond to God’s leading.

The Motive of Chastening

⁹Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
¹⁰For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
¹¹Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Most of us were trained by parents, who, to whatever degree, tried to mold our lives, so that we would grow up to be beneficial members of society, successful in business, or whatever their goals may have been. We may not have enjoyed what we learned, but most of us can look back and see that it was valuable in at least some ways. Most of us can at least respect what our parents tried to do, even if we feel they did not do a good job as a parent. There are counter examples, I know, and I have heard some of those stories. But as a general rule, most parents, whether godly or not, at least desire that their children grow to be productive, well-adjusted adults. And, ultimately, most people do, to one degree or another.

But God says that His discipline is intended to mold us into His likeness so that we can be partakers of His Holiness. Over in 2^nd Peter 1:4, we are told that we can expect to be made partakers of His Divine Nature, through the “exceeding great and precious promises” that He has given us. So, between the Word of God, where those promises are, and the Spirit of God who motivates us and guides us, we are being trained to become more and more like our Savior. That is God’s goal. He gives us instruction as to how to respond to His training.

The Goal of Chastening

¹²Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
¹³And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

God wants us to willingly submit ourselves to His will now, so that we benefit sooner, and can knowingly engage with his plan for our lives. He says for us not to be discouraged by hard times, but to eagerly look to see what He may be doing to train us for further service. Rather than being crushed by adversity, we can be strengthened by it. We are to choose paths that honor God, so that we can see His hand of blessing, even in hard times.

¹⁴Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

On a daily basis, we will either see the hand of God in our lives or we will not. If we feel that we are not seeing God’s presence in our daily lives, we may need to examine our walk, and “sharpen our gaze”, so to speak. But…that is not the way the phrase “see the Lord” is used here.

What holiness can any man or woman produce in their lives that will match the holiness of God? Why are we told in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God?” Why does James say that “in many things we all offend”? It is because we are all sinners, saved by Grace! So, what “holiness” is God calling the prerequisite for seeing Jesus at all for eternity?

In Ephesians 4:24 we get a hint: He says “and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (emphasis mine.) The only human holiness that God can call “holiness” is his own Holiness, reflected in us. Jesus told Nicodemus that “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The holiness has to be born in us at the re-birth Jesus required of Nicodemus… it is a new creation. Apart from that, we will not see the Lord. But on an on-going basis, holiness must be pursued, in order to experience it as a daily, ongoing reality. It is not something we just “strap on and forget it.” It is to be cultivated and fed, as we learn to walk with God. We feed the new nature, and pursue the holiness of God.

**Consequences of Rejecting Chastening**

The following verses warn of the danger in not learning to walk with God: we can become embittered, and as a result, become a casualty in the army of God. Can we lose our place in his family? NO! But we can lose our place of service, and blessing, and become a liability to others.

¹⁵Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

We need God’s Grace by which to live, day by day. Failing to avail ourselves of His Grace will make us susceptible to bitterness. We are wounded by the enemy…a casualty in the battle. Such a casualty will always affect others. Others will be defiled as well, as they are either drawn into sin, themselves, or repulsed by the sin of the failed Christian testimony. Many new believers (and unbelievers) have been permanently driven away from churches, by what they have experienced in some particular church, long ago. And some never recover. Bitterness is only one source:

¹⁶Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Esau is held up as an example of one who “sold out”. Was he a saved man? I have no way to know for sure, but it would seem he was not. He counted one meal to be of greater value than a relationship with God, knowing that the “birthright” included being the family priest, at that time.

¹⁷For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

This is not a warning that “one can lose his salvation, and will never be able to regain it.” It is simply a solemn warning that it is not always possible to “go back and change things.” Some bad decisions have permanent results…there will be consequences, regardless of our remorse.

Years ago, there was a Republican senatorial bid by a young Southern Baptist pastor whom I actually met, and with whom I was favorably impressed. But, before the primary campaign had really gotten going, he (quite publicly) ran away with his secretary. His friends frantically pleaded with him to give up his folly and come back, and he finally did so. But it was too late: his wife wanted no part of it, and she divorced him. That ended his campaign, his ministry and his reputation. All was ruined, with no hope of recovery. There was no place of repentance. His name was used for years thereafter, to viciously mock Christians, Republicans, Southern Baptists, and Pastors. He was a permanent blot to everyone with whom he had ever been associated.

It was pretty sad, and shameful, at the time, but it stood as a lesson for the rest of us, too. There are some mistakes that you just can’t go back and undo. Did he lose his position in the family of God? No! But he did lose his position of service, and blessing. We can be disqualified for ministry through our sin, whether it is anger, pride, lust, or any other sin. When we look at the qualifications for an elder, for instance, it specifies a “one-woman-man” (Yes, I am aware that it is usually translated: “husband of one wife” and I believe that is correct, but this is what it literally says, in Greek.) Had this pastor in the political race repented and gone back to his wife (and had she not divorced him) and had he just tried to go on with his church ministry, would he have been qualified to serve? I think not! He had already proven that he was not a “one-woman-man”. Divorce is not the issue, there in 1^st Timothy 3:2. Character is… it always is!

I have known a few (not many) who have been divorced through no fault of their own. One such man was forced into it by the state of California, because his wife needed institutional mental-health care, and they would not accept her, to give her the care she needed, unless he divorced her. He did not want to do it, but was given no choice. She died there, in that hospital, still loved by her husband, but separated from him by a government regulation. Was he a one-woman man? Yes: he eventually remarried, and has been completely faithful to that wife as well, through years of ministry and declining health. He was a qualified elder/pastor, and served faithfully for years.

But the young pastor who aspired to government, and who deserted his wife for another woman? He had proven himself unqualified as a pastor. There was nothing he could do to recover his lost position of service. There was no place for repentance. This is something to remember.

It is important to realize, too, that there is no such thing as a “secret” from God. Our thoughts are not “hidden” in our own hearts. I’m sure that the pastor in the above example had “toyed with” the sin of adultery for years, before he finally succumbed to it. He had already been in trouble with God! The sin of his heart was only made public through his actions.

I knew another young pastor who succumbed to covetousness: he lost his ministry and his reputation through theft: shoplifting, specifically. He lost his job, his life-calling, and the respect of his wife, family, and friends, all through the avarice that led him to steal what were ultimately just “toys”. He didn’t steal because of “need.” It was simple greed that cast him down. Again, this is something to remember: You don’t have to fall into the same sorts of sin in order to know that they are a bad choice. These fellows proved it for you. They have “done your homework” for you. Learn from their mistakes, and don’t make the same mistakes yourself.

Conclusion

Since we know that the chastening, discipline, and “child training” that God uses to direct our lives is all for our good, and that He is molding us into His likeness, we need to respond accordingly, and be thankful for His guidance, and His provision, even when life is not going the way we want it to go. We can be thankful for prayers that were answered “No!” We can be thankful for stressful situations that He uses to build stamina and endurance in our lives.

By learning to endure patiently, graciously (and even joyfully) the trials we face, we become a much better testimony to the unbelieving world, and a much greater encouragement to our fellow believers. Is it easy? No! Is it worth the trouble? Yes! Jesus says (John 14:21) that if we love Him, and obey Him, then He will make Himself known to us. And experientially knowing the presence and blessing of Christ in our lives on a daily basis, is the most precious thing we can have, in this world.

Lord Jesus, help us to see Your handiwork in our circumstances, and to learn to see Your Grace at work. Help us to give thanks in all circumstances, and to respond in faith, obedience, and love.

March 28, 2015

To Whom Was the Law Given?

To Whom Was the Law Given…and Why?

Galatians 3:19-29

Introduction:

I remember hearing a story, years ago, about a young man whose wife was sick, so he called a doctor for a house-call (yes, they used to have those.) The doctor arrived, and the husband was sitting nearby while the doctor was asking the young woman a series of questions. The man was something of a hypochondriac, and for every symptom the doctor asked her about, the man would say, “Well, I’ve been having that!” Finally, the doctor was exasperated: he turned around and said, “Do you mind, sir? I am trying to determine whether your wife is pregnant!”

So the twin issues of “to whom was the doctor talking”, and “why was he saying the words he said” had both been overlooked by the man in the story.

We chuckle over such stories, but we fail to see that we have done the same thing—we are trying to claim or apply promises that were not made to us, and trying to obey a law, that in any case was not for us, and in every case, was not within our capacity to obey.

Things that share similarities are still not necessarily the same. It is the differences that matter, not the similarities. When I read the book of Isaiah, for example, it sounds very much as though he is talking about our country today, but, over and over, he clearly states that he is talking about Israel, before the Babylonian captivity. The similarities are definitely there, but there is no question he is speaking to his own people, the Jews, not our country.

So, as we study the differences between Law and Grace, we need to bear in mind the following question: to whom was the Law was given…and why? But Paul addresses the “why” first, so that is what we will do, as well.

Why was the Law given?

¹⁹ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Interesting! The Law was given because of sin…until the “seed” (singular—Christ!) arrived, to whom the promise was made. The Law was given through a mediator (Moses) who acted as a go-between from God to Man. Jesus is a Mediator, too, but of a different sort: he brought Grace and Truth; Moses brought Law—and the attendant curse on sin.

²⁰ Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

Mediators necessarily have to go between two otherwise separated parties. Moses was one such mediator, and Jesus was another—a fulfillment of the picture that Moses made, in fact. But there was only one God involved; and only one human race (despite the many divisions, languages, nations, etc., with billions of individuals.) So, what changed between the ministry of Moses and that of Jesus? God did not change—and Man did not change either.

The two mediators work together to accomplish the will of the One God. Man had no say in the matter. Usually a mediator is requiring or at least recommending compromise from both sides in a conflict. In this case it was all about God’s will, delivered to humans by means of a mediator; two different mediators with two different tasks. In the one case, the bad news was delivered: “Man is lost and cannot save himself.” In the other case, the good news was delivered, along with a stark reminder of the bad news: “Jesus is God’s anointed sacrifice—crucified for us—by which we must be saved: and we lay hands on him, and appropriate that sacrifice by faith.”

²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

Paul concludes, then, that the Law was not contrary to the promise. It condemned the sin, but looked forward to the fulfilling of the Promise in Christ. Paul does not mention it here, but in other places it is made clear that every blood sacrifice of the Old Testament, prescribed under the Law, was a foreshadowing of Christ. The Law was a “placeholder”: it maintained the holiness of God while demonstrating the utter sinfulness of Man and providing a blood-sacrifice as a substitute for the sinner (only a temporary covering) to be entered into by faith. But the result of the Law was that all became sinners:

²² But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

This is confirmed in Romans 3:23, 24: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God… being justified freely by his Grace…” That passage is clear: it says “all” and it means “ALL”. But as we read this passage, it is important that we pay attention to the pronouns, “we”, “us”, and “you”. They are not all in reference to the same group of people.

“We, Our, Us, and You”

²³ But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Who is the “we” in this passage? If it is in reference to the whole human race, we have a problem: the vast majority of the human race has never heard any of the Mosaic Law. How could the Gentiles have been said to be “under the Law? The Law was given to Moses, specifically to be delivered to a people called out from among the human race…they were specifically separated from the rest of the human race and called to be holy. The law was not given to everyone—just Israel. And the Law, far from providing a way to become a holy people, only condemned them for their unholiness.

The only solution ever offered by the Law was a continual flow of blood at the altar, recognizing the eternal need for cleansing. But Job, speaking centuries before the giving of the Law, knew that his Redeemer lived! He knew that the “goel”—the “kinsman-redeemer”, later described under the Law, was already alive—and he predicted the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous dead which will come at the very beginning of the millennial kingdom here on earth.

Therefore, since Job, speaking before the Law, knew that the security of his own salvation rested in his Redeemer, we can conclude that the salvation that was offered under the Law, by faith, through the sacrifices, was also just as secure and just as effective as the salvation we experience. Why? He made sacrifices to God, but did so without the guideline of the Law. He did so by faith. Under the Law, the true believers followed the guideline of the Law, and brought their sacrifice, but still did so by faith. Faith is an obedient response to a revealed truth.

They were all looking forward to the Cross by faith, and we look back to the Cross by faith. One other difference, of course, is that very few believers in those times were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Today, everyone who trusts in Jesus’ full payment at the Cross for salvation receives the Holy Spirit the moment he or she believes…and whether he or she knows it or not. In the transition period chronicled in the book of Acts, there were frequently signs accompanying salvation—but they seemed to taper off toward the end of the apostolic age, and some think they have completely ceased. (There is a good deal of controversy around that point, so I am not going to address it here, since that argument has no pertinence to the passage we are examining.)

²⁴ Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Notice again the pronouns—“our, us, we”: The same individuals who received the Law and were under the Law were the recipients of the ministry of the Law.

The word translated “schoolmaster”, here, is “paidagogon”—pedagogue. (Pais = “boy”; agogos = guide) In the prevailing culture of the time, a rich father would assign an adult male slave to bring up his son—to tutor him, and bring him up to be a responsible adult. The result was to be a young man of whom the father could be proud. The pedagogue did not make him a child of his father—he only made him a respectable, responsible young man. Paul says that the Law was meant to bring “us” up to faith. Over in Romans 7:13, it clearly states that the Law was given to show the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Incidentally, from the moment that child was born, positionally he was a “son”—but until maturity came he would not be recognized as such, and had no inherited authority as yet.

Stop and think: over whose child did the pedagogue exercise His ministry? Was it to every kid in town, or just the son of the Father? Of course, his ministry was limited to the children of the covenant…the children of that Father. And when the time came to relinquish that responsibility, the pedagogue did so completely. The children were to approach the Father directly, and the Father could deal with the children as responsible heirs.

²⁵ But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Who is the “we” in this passage? The same as the “us” to whom the Law was delivered! The Jews are no longer supposed to be under the Mosaic Law, if they have received their Messiah by faith. Paul, effectively, had “graduated” and had told it to the Jews…and they rejected the message. So, what about the Gentiles? Do they have to become Jews in order to share in the blessing? Do they have to bear the burden of the Law with its curse for failure, in order to inherit the blessing of Abraham?

So, What about the Gentiles? What about You?

²⁶ For ye are all the children (huioi…sons) of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Ah! There is a change in pronouns! Now he is no longer saying “we”—not first person plural, but second person plural! (That’s what “ye” is, in Old English.) He says “You are sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ.” That is addressed to all believers!

I have never been under the Mosaic Law…but I have been “concluded under Sin”, according to verse 22 of this chapter, and also according to Romans 3:23—“ALL have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God.” (There’s that word “all” again….)

Once a pedagogue had succeeded in bringing a son up to the satisfaction of the Father, his job was done—and he was just a slave. Once the Law has completed the task of bringing a man to faith, its job is done…that man is no longer under the Law. In our culture we have no slaves and no pedagogues so it is a hard analogy for us to follow. In addition, as Gentiles, we have never been under the Mosaic Law.

The “bad news” of our sin was made clear to us by the preaching of some small portion of the Law, or possibly simply by hearing the New Testament statements of our sin. The Good News (Gospel) of Christ came in the same message, usually. But the point is clear: we are no longer under the Law, once we have come to faith in Christ. I am no longer to dread the curse of God. God no longer sees me as a sinner, in spite of the fact that I still have my old sin nature.

²⁷ For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

This statement is also addressed to “you”—all believers. But, the baptism here is not water—it is the Holy Spirit. 1^st Corinthians 12:13 states that the Holy Spirit has baptized (past tense) all believers into one body…that of Christ. That baptism is also referenced in Romans 6—no water is in any of these passages. It is the Holy Spirit in view, here…not water.

Water baptism is only an outward demonstration, symbolic of an inward reality, just as communion is a commemorative feast, declaring what Jesus has done for us. Because water baptism is something that we can do, it is also something that can be faked by an unbeliever, just as an unbeliever can take communion. But there is no faking the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We can’t see it, and there are no outward signs, necessarily. Either you are or you are not in the body of Christ—and if you are, you got there by faith, and by the work of the Holy Spirit.

There is no “litmus test”: I can’t prove that someone is, or is not, a believer. We hear the testimony of faith, and see the testimony of obedience. A serious shortfall in either one may be cause to doubt the truth of the testimony, or the source of the obedience. When we fellowship with real believers, enthusiastic about God’s Word, and earnestly seeking to obey God’s Word, then the result is genuine unity, made by God, not man. All the ecumenical “unity” that we see today, built upon compromise and humanism, has nothing to do with the Unity of the Spirit.

People who set aside the written Word of God, trying to dissolve doctrinal disunity and create artificial unity are completely ignorant of the unity that Christ, the Living Word, produces. Lives changed by the Holy Spirit grow closer together, not further apart. Consider an old-fashioned wooden wheel. If Christ is the center of each of our lives— the hub, so to speak— then as we (as “spokes”) draw closer to Him we cannot help drawing closer to one another as well. On a wooden wheel the spokes converge until at the center they are joined…actually touching one another all the way around the hub. There is coming a day when all believers will be in full unity at the Throne of Grace, and there will be no division between us.

We have unity now—we need to maintain it.

Unity in Christ

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Notice the pronoun “ye”, again: this is still addressed to all believers. He says that we are (present tense) all one in Christ. This is genuine unity. It is made by God, not Man: we are only told to maintain it, not create it. (Ephesians 4:3 says we are to endeavor “…to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace.”)

There are certainly differences from one person to another, by human standards, in terms of ability, social status, age, etc. Even under God, there are differences of gifts, and differences of maturity, along with different responsibilities and authority. But in terms of value, especially before God, the ground is absolutely level at the foot of the Cross. We need to see, here, that the differences do not in any way affect the value of the individual, nor our responsibility to maintain unity and fellowship with them.

²⁹ And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Notice the continuing use of the plural pronoun, “ye”. If you are a member of the body of Christ, having been born again by Grace, through faith, and placed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, then the promise that the nations would be blessed through Abraham has been partially fulfilled in you, and, more to the point, because you are in Christ, you are literally part of that promised seed…not a part of Israel, or Judaism, but a living part of the Messiah, himself: a part of the Body of Christ! He is the one Seed of Abraham…and we are part of Him forever.

But, as long as we are here in Galatians 3, look back at verse 26: please don’t fail to see how one becomes a Son of God. It is “by faith in Christ Jesus”: there is no other way. Faith is the only approach to God. I cannot get to God by church attendance, by Law-keeping, or by reciting a creed, however sincerely I may do all these things. If I am not placing my conscious trust in the fact of the Cross, then I am still seeking to achieve a “do-it-yourself” relationship with God, and it simply cannot be done.

Folks say “But all people are God’s children!” We see from the scriptures that Jesus disagreed with them; he stated that “…ye are of your father the Devil, and his works will ye do!” (John 8:44). So, not all people are children of God. In fact, in Ephesians 2:3, we see that none of us start out that way, and here, in Galatians 3:26, God says we can only become a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

Over in John 1:12 John states that “as many as received him, to them gave he power (exousia—authority—the right) to become (the Greek means “be born; generated”—genesthai) the children (tekna—born-ones) of God. That is the only way it can happen. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that “You must be born again!”

If you have heard the bad news of your sin, and confess that you cannot save yourself, and have placed your trust in the Good News of the Person and Work of Christ, then you are permanently a child of God, and He will continue to correct you and draw you to Himself.

Trust Him, and give Him time to work!

Lord Jesus, focus the eyes of our hearts upon you. Draw us to walk together with you in faith, love and obedience. We confess that we cannot save ourselves, nor even see how to walk with you: We need the light of your Word, and the guidance of your Spirit. Give us Grace to live for you, by your Name and by your Spirit.