Paul explains the Law...and the Covenant. I don't know about you, but I'm going with the Covenant...Gleanings from Galatians 3: 13-29
" The Lord Jesus has purchased our very freedom from the curse defined in the Law. I will remind you of what Our Lord Jesus has done...for all of us!
Jesus hung on the Cross, freeing us from what the Law imposes, and He did this by becoming the very curse of the Law itself. He took each one of our places...the very place we were suppose to end up, as Deuteronomy states: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."
Instead, our redemption from the Curse, which has been totally created by Christ Jesus, now makes it possible for all Jews and Gentiles to receive the very blessings God the Father promised to Abraham, and that being we all receive by faith the real and ever present Holy Spirit, who lives in our hearts giving us the ability to please the Lord, a fresh and new direction in life, and a purpose to live, that being this: for me to live is...Christ!
Let me clarify something by using an example in everyday life. When a person makes a Last Will and Testament, which is a human covenant when one is near death, no one is going to try and annul it, make it void, or make changes once this document is drawn up, ratified, confirmed, and signed.
In the same manner, God has given us a Covenant, much more potent than any human covenant, which had been given to us through Abraham...and to his Seed (singular), his Offspring, his Heir.
Notice, God does not say Seed or Offspring or Heir in plural form, as if referring to a multitude of people or a particular race of people. This Abrahamic Covenant was given to one individual...and that being none other than our Lord Jesus Christ!
Ok, then what does this mean? It means that the Law, which had its beginnings 430 years AFTER the covenant had been given to Abraham, has no power to annul or change the Covenant given to Abraham by Almighty God. God can not be simply voided out.
If the Law and following the Law was our only means to receive God's blessings and approval, then the Abrahamic Covenant would have to be declared null and void. But that is not what happened...not even close. Our Heavenly Father, through His very own Son, rescued us and enables us to receive our inheritance today.
So, why was the Law even given or established centuries after this God-Covenant given to Abraham had already been made?
The Law has been given to us for this reason: to show all of us we are not able to have a restored relationship with God based on our own merits. We in ourselves are exposed to sin and have sin in our lives, we are prisoners of sin. Our only hope of restoration to a deep loving relationship with God the Father and able to receive the inheritance promised to us through the Abrahamic Covenant...can only be made possible through our faith in God's Dear and Only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
All the Law is capable to do even from its very conception is to contain us from "selling out" to sin by giving to us rules, regulations, and rituals. The Law has never really had any power to change hearts and lives from within...being obedient to the Law by itself doesn't make us a holy people to the Father. That's why trying to please God by pointing to obedience of the Law doesn't mean we have restored our relationship with our Loving God.
Our restored relationship to our Heavenly Father can only come through the original Heir of this Covenant given to Abraham...that being the Lord Jesus Christ! And our way of being heirs to this Covenant can only come by our receiving Christ Jesus into our own hearts...by faith...and faith alone!
The Law has been our teacher, keeping us in a discipline that does not allow us to go completely astray. But once Christ came, the Law had then completed its purpose, and our faith in Him replaces what the Law had been called to do. Now, through our faith in Him we now have a restored relationship with God, who is now our very own Father...all because of the Lord Jesus!
We are now all of God's children once again, because of our faith in Christ. And through our baptism, we are all united, being one in Him, and our hearts and lives are now clothed in His Righteousness...Christ Jesus, God's Only Son and true heir of the Abrahamic Covenant!
No longer are there any distinctions, whether we be Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female...we are all one...in Christ Jesus!
And now that we are all in Christ, we are the true sons of Abraham, the true heirs of God's original Covenant to Abraham, and all the promises of the Covenant belongs to us!
" The Lord Jesus has purchased our very freedom from the curse defined in the Law. I will remind you of what Our Lord Jesus has done...for all of us!
Jesus hung on the Cross, freeing us from what the Law imposes, and He did this by becoming the very curse of the Law itself. He took each one of our places...the very place we were suppose to end up, as Deuteronomy states: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."
Instead, our redemption from the Curse, which has been totally created by Christ Jesus, now makes it possible for all Jews and Gentiles to receive the very blessings God the Father promised to Abraham, and that being we all receive by faith the real and ever present Holy Spirit, who lives in our hearts giving us the ability to please the Lord, a fresh and new direction in life, and a purpose to live, that being this: for me to live is...Christ!
Let me clarify something by using an example in everyday life. When a person makes a Last Will and Testament, which is a human covenant when one is near death, no one is going to try and annul it, make it void, or make changes once this document is drawn up, ratified, confirmed, and signed.
In the same manner, God has given us a Covenant, much more potent than any human covenant, which had been given to us through Abraham...and to his Seed (singular), his Offspring, his Heir.
Notice, God does not say Seed or Offspring or Heir in plural form, as if referring to a multitude of people or a particular race of people. This Abrahamic Covenant was given to one individual...and that being none other than our Lord Jesus Christ!
Ok, then what does this mean? It means that the Law, which had its beginnings 430 years AFTER the covenant had been given to Abraham, has no power to annul or change the Covenant given to Abraham by Almighty God. God can not be simply voided out.
If the Law and following the Law was our only means to receive God's blessings and approval, then the Abrahamic Covenant would have to be declared null and void. But that is not what happened...not even close. Our Heavenly Father, through His very own Son, rescued us and enables us to receive our inheritance today.
So, why was the Law even given or established centuries after this God-Covenant given to Abraham had already been made?
The Law has been given to us for this reason: to show all of us we are not able to have a restored relationship with God based on our own merits. We in ourselves are exposed to sin and have sin in our lives, we are prisoners of sin. Our only hope of restoration to a deep loving relationship with God the Father and able to receive the inheritance promised to us through the Abrahamic Covenant...can only be made possible through our faith in God's Dear and Only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
All the Law is capable to do even from its very conception is to contain us from "selling out" to sin by giving to us rules, regulations, and rituals. The Law has never really had any power to change hearts and lives from within...being obedient to the Law by itself doesn't make us a holy people to the Father. That's why trying to please God by pointing to obedience of the Law doesn't mean we have restored our relationship with our Loving God.
Our restored relationship to our Heavenly Father can only come through the original Heir of this Covenant given to Abraham...that being the Lord Jesus Christ! And our way of being heirs to this Covenant can only come by our receiving Christ Jesus into our own hearts...by faith...and faith alone!
The Law has been our teacher, keeping us in a discipline that does not allow us to go completely astray. But once Christ came, the Law had then completed its purpose, and our faith in Him replaces what the Law had been called to do. Now, through our faith in Him we now have a restored relationship with God, who is now our very own Father...all because of the Lord Jesus!
We are now all of God's children once again, because of our faith in Christ. And through our baptism, we are all united, being one in Him, and our hearts and lives are now clothed in His Righteousness...Christ Jesus, God's Only Son and true heir of the Abrahamic Covenant!
No longer are there any distinctions, whether we be Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female...we are all one...in Christ Jesus!
And now that we are all in Christ, we are the true sons of Abraham, the true heirs of God's original Covenant to Abraham, and all the promises of the Covenant belongs to us!
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