Complete in Jesus

[Paul responds to the men from Jerusalem who were pressuring Gentiles to conform to Jewish customs, including circumcision – Galatians 2:15-21]. What identifies the people of God and determines membership in His covenant community is Christ Jesus, and this is confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Jews and Gentiles are justified through Jesus and his death, and not from the works of the Law or anything else.

The death of Christ accomplished much more than the forgiveness of our sins, as vital as forgiveness is. Among other things, Jesus began the dismantling of the “wall of separation” between Jews and Gentiles, and at great personal cost.

So, imagine Paul’s astonishment when he discovered that certain disruptive teachers in Galatia were attempting to rebuild that very wall. By doing so, they were declaring that “Christ died in vain!” Their appeal to the traditions of Judaism and the Mosaic Law effectively denied the validity of the faith of Gentile believers and denigrated the value of the Gift of the Spirit.

• “If God gave to the Gentiles the same gift as he did also to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?” - (Acts 11:17).

[Photo by Serey Kim (Houston) on Unsplash]

Moreover, the Galatians had received the Spirit. By bestowing this gift on Jewish and Gentile believers alike, God Himself confirmed their acceptance as full members of His people. And if this is so, adding other requirements like circumcision or Sabbath observances makes no sense:

• “Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made complete in the flesh?” – (Galatians 3:3).

• “For we, in the Spirit, from faith are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love” – (Galatians 5:5-6).

Paul even identifies the Gift of the Spirit with the blessing of Abraham, the promise that in the Patriarch, “all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” After all, Jesus is the seed of Abraham who fulfills the covenant promises:

• “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. <…> That upon the Gentiles might come THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” – (Galatians 3:14. See Genesis 12:3 and Galatians 3:8).

• “Now, the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, And to your seeds, as of many, but as of one, AND TO YOUR SEED, which is Christ” – (Galatians 3:16. Note the allusion to Genesis 17:7).

None of this means that the Law of Moses serves no purpose, but it is not the basis for determining who is acquitted of the penalty of sin. Reconciliation with the Creator of the Universe is obtained “through the faith of Jesus Christ,” and not through the deeds and rituals required by the Torah, including circumcision.

In his Letter to the Galatians, Paul explains that he received his Gospel by revelation, and the leaders of the Jerusalem Church confirmed his commission to take the Good News of salvation through Christ to the nations.

Paul also compares the situation in Galatia to earlier conflicts in Antioch caused by “false brethren who were smuggled in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus.” They infiltrated that church and disseminated disruptive teachings, claiming it was inappropriate for Jewish followers of Christ to eat with uncircumcised Gentiles.

The pressure in Antioch to conform to this false teaching was so great that even Peter and Barnabas became entangled in the practice. Therefore, Paul confronted Peter about his hypocrisy:

• “When I saw that they did not walk plainly regarding the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all: ‘If you, being a Jew, are living like Gentiles and not like Jews, how is it that you are compelling the Gentiles to Judaize?”- (Galatians 2:11-14).

The controversy centered on the status of Gentile believers. Were uncircumcised Gentiles acceptable members of the covenant community? The key phrase in Paul’s statement is “compelling the Gentiles to Judaize.”  The Greek verb he uses is a strong word. It means exactly that. “To compel, to force” (‘anangkazō’ – Strong’s Concordance, #G315).

The Greek infinitive translated in English as “to judaize” occurs only here in the New Testament. The verb signifies someone who lives like a Jew, and in Paul’s usage, it means to adopt a Jewish lifestyle - (Strong’s Concordance, #G2450).

This was the heart of the debate. Certain Jewish Christians were pressuring Gentiles to conform to Jewish customs, and by refusing to eat with them, they were insinuating there was something defective with the faith of the Gentile members of the congregation.

Paul’s opponents did not deny the necessity for faith. However, circumcision was presented as a necessary addition to the faith of Jesus to “complete” the faith of Gentile Christians:

• “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? This only would I learn from you! Did you receive the Spirit from the works of the law, or from the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made complete in the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain, if it be indeed in vain? He, therefore, who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it from the works of the law, or from the hearing of faith?” - (Galatians 3:1-5).

PAUL’S ARGUMENT

Paul’s opponents had a strong case. God gave circumcision to Abraham as the sign of His covenant. Any male not circumcised was cut off from Israel because “he has broken my covenant.” Since the Church originated from the religion of Israel, questions about and confrontation over circumcision were inevitable once the Gospel was proclaimed to the nations - (Genesis 17:7-14, Acts 10:44-48).

The Letter to the Galatians is Paul’s response to these Judaizing agitators. He argues why it is a mistake for Gentiles to submit to circumcision. If they adopt circumcision, they will place themselves under the Law, and that would mean obeying all its regulations and rituals. Failure to do so brings men and women under the Divine curse:

• “For as many as are from the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT CONTINUE IN ALL THINGS THAT ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM” - (Galatians 3:10. Note the citation of Deuteronomy 27:26).

The first disciples of Jesus were Jews, and beginning on the Day of Pentecost, the Gospel was preached initially to the Jewish people and proselytes of the Jewish faith. The Church did not view itself as a new religion but as the fulfillment of the beliefs and traditions of Israel.

So, how do Gentile believers become acceptable members of God’s people? And if they are not acquitted before God of the penalty of sin “on the basis of the works of the Law,” what was the purpose of the Law? Paul addresses both questions in Chapter 3 of Galatians.

Must Gentiles add circumcision to their faith in Jesus to become full members of the covenant people of God? The Apostle to the Gentiles gives an emphatically negative answer. Absolutely not!

Paul explains his position in Chapter 2 of Galatians. He presents the things he holds in common with his Judaizing opponents (Galatians 2:15-16), and then he summarizes the areas of disagreement (Galatians 2:17-21).  He begins by describing the basis on which a man is acquitted of sin before God:

• “We ourselves by nature Jews and not sinners from among the nations, know that man is not declared innocent on the basis of the works of the law, but through the faith of Christ Jesus; even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be acquitted on the basis of the faith of Christ and not from the works of the law; because from the works of the law will no flesh be acquitted”- (Galatians 2:15-16).

Paul’s statement opens with an emphatic Greek pronoun translated as “we ourselves.” The Apostle is describing the things on which he and his Judaizing opponents agree. A man is not reconciled with God based on the deeds and rituals required by the Mosaic Law. Men and women are declared innocent through the faith of Jesus Christ. This is common ground.

Paul’s Greek clause does not read “by faith in Jesus,” but “through the faith OF Jesus.” The genitive construction of the clause refers to something that Jesus possessed or did, not what the believer does, at least, not at this point in the process of conversion-initiation.

The sinner is reconciled with God based on the faith of the Son of God, and God confirms this by giving the Gift of the Spirit to the believer, whether Jew or Gentile. The faithfulness of Christ is the foundation, the basis, for declaring the sinner innocent and no longer subject to the penalty of sin, especially death.

Paul also refers to justification “from the faith of Jesus” in Galatians 2:16. The Greek preposition translated as “from” (‘ek’) points to the “faith of Jesus” as the source and basis of our justification by God.

The Greek noun ‘pistos’ translated as “faith” can be rendered “faith” or “faithfulness.” This phrase is shorthand for the faithful obedience of Jesus, his “obedience unto death,” and this is confirmed by Galatians 2:21 - “I live by faith, the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up on my behalf.”

And so, men and women are declared innocent because of the “faith of Jesus Christ,” that is, his death - his self-sacrificial act on our behalf. Acquittal before God is based on Christ’s act of obedience. The underlying issue is not good works in general, but a specific category of work, the works of the Law, including circumcision.

Next, Paul presents the areas of disagreement between him and the Judaizers:

• (Galatians 2:17-21) - “Now, if in seeking to be declared innocent in Christ we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!  For if the things that I pulled down I build again, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For I, through the law, died to the law that I might live to God. With Christ I have been crucified. And I am living no longer, but living in me is Christ. As long as I now live in flesh, I live by faith, the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up in my behalf. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if through the law is righteousness, then Christ died without cause.”

Most likely, the agitators claim that if the Law does not regulate the covenant community, moral anarchy will result. According to Paul, that would make Jesus responsible for all subsequent sins, a charge he rejects.

Returning to the Mosaic Law after being freed from its jurisdiction and potential curse is the real danger and transgression. If we insist on faith plus any of the “works of the Law,” we declare openly that Jesus “died in vain,” and that his sacrificial death was powerless to justify and save us. That would be a transgression of the worst sort since we would thereby declare that his death was insufficient to acquit us of the guilt and penalty of sin before the Judge of all the Earth.

What defines the covenant people of God is identification with Jesus and the Gift of the Holy Spirit, not circumcision or submission to the other regulations and rituals of the Torah. Our justification is based on the “faith of Jesus,” period. Rather than return to bondage under the Law, Jesus has provided us with salvation and freedom.

• “For freedom did Christ set us free. Therefore, stand fast, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage! Behold, I Paul say to you, that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. Indeed, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be declared innocent from the law. You are fallen from grace! For we, in the Spirit, from faith are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love” – (Galatians 5:1-6).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, commonly called the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Circumcised Heart - (The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ)

• Spirit and Covenant - (The Gift of the Spirit is part of the New Covenant, the first fruits of the New Creation, and the gathering of the nations in fulfillment of the covenant)

• The Heir of Abraham - (Jesus is the true Son of Abraham, the heir of the promises, the Anointed One who fulfills and implements the inheritance for his people)

• Complète en Jésus - (Paul défie les hommes de Jérusalem qui obligeaient les chrétiens gentils à se conformer aux coutumes juives, y compris la circoncision – Galates 2: 15-21)