Much of what follows does so because of what Paul has
insisted in regards to Jews, Gentiles, and God’s covenant. After this
rebuke to some portion of the Galatian congregation, which has followed his
dissertation on justification (focused on Jew, Gentile, and God’s covenant),
Paul moves on to a discussion of Abraham, which is the same thing that happens
to take place in the letter to the Romans when he deals with justification
(which should be quite telling when we consider the nature of justification
from Paul’s perspective).
Before analyzing those statements, a quick digression.
Remember, when we look at Paul’s letters, we have to allow the narrative to build
on itself, so we do not inject ideas from other letters into the interpretation
of the letter, supplying a pile of isolated texts that will serve as proofs of
our thesis. Rather, we explore the letter on their own terms, because
this is what allows us to, with obvious limitations, climb inside the mind of
the Apostle. Getting our minds around his thinking, as it is illustrated
by his letters, is what allows us to grapple with other letters by Paul on their
own terms.
This climbing, of course, takes place as we do our best to
hear Paul as a denizen of the first century, thus extending our contextual
approach beyond the context of the reading Scripture within Scripture, but also
reading Scripture within its historical and cultural context, which equips us
to make far more appropriate applications of the words of Scripture and the
message of the Gospel to our own lives and times. Though we do not
presume to limit the abilities of God to communicate by His Spirit, and for the
Spirit to communicate through His apostles in ways that transcend time and
culture, thus rendering context irrelevant, the reading of Scripture seems to
be far more satisfying and appropriate when we attempt to hear what we now call
Scripture as it was intended to be heard by its original audience; and then,
because of the Spirit’s work that has inspired a loyal faith in the crucified
and resurrected One, His Gospel, and the records of the early church (the
letters of the New Testament) that saw the elect people of God attempting to
work out the implications of that Gospel, becomes that which is transcendent
and able to speak into any time and any culture.
Keeping in mind the essence of justification, which includes
the spreading of God’s covenant to Gentiles, on new terms related to belief in
Jesus as Lord, we hear Paul say “But the Scripture imprisoned everything and
everyone under sin so that the promise could be given---because of the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ---to those who believe” (3:22). Here, Paul
has built on everything that his listeners have previously heard, and
especially words such as “yet we know that no one is justified by the works o
the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to
believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of
Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one
will be justified” (2:16). In verse twenty-two of chapter three, the
promise that is given is the promise of the blessings of the covenant. To
whom is it available? It is available to “everything and everyone,” and
it is experienced by those who believe in Jesus, as God has demonstrated His
faithfulness to Israel and to all of humanity through Jesus, and as Jesus (God manifest)
has demonstrated His faithfulness to Israel and to all humanity through His
mission.
This faithfulness is paramount. This belief in the
idea that Jesus is Lord, which represents God’s faithfulness to His covenant,
is paramount. Paul writes that “before faith came we were held in custody
under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be
revealed” (3:23). Indeed, before faith came---before entrance upon the
covenant was able to be attained through a loyal trust in Jesus as Lord of all,
participation in the covenant was bound to the observance of and adherence to
specific covenant markers that served as walls to the promises and as walls to
the people that observed these traditions. Paul seems to be communicating
that even though the Jews saw the covenant markers as walls that kept Gentiles
out, thus preserving their special status as God’s elect peoples, the fact of
the matter is that those covenant markers that separated Jew from Gentile were
actually walls that imprisoned God’s people and His covenant---keeping them
from experiencing the full blessing that had been intended for them.
To that Paul adds, “Thus the law had become our guardian
until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith” (3:24).
Prior to the coming of the Christ (the Messiah, the King), the covenant
markers, which had been the means by which one could be identified as
righteous, had been standing watch outside that prison that had been erected
around the covenant and its people. With the coming of the Christ,
however, a new covenant marker had come, with that covenant markers being, as
we have stated so many times, belief in Jesus as Lord. Now, the
declaration of righteousness---the means by which one is identified as being
righteous (in right covenant standing), is faith’s confession of the lordship
of that Christ, and a life of response suited to the realities and requirements
of His kingdom and His rule.
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