Galatians introduction, part 1: ‘New covenant’ according to the Bible

The kind of presuppositions we bring to the New Testament can color our view of the Bible as a whole. This is a discussion series on the more difficult passages of the New Testament that anti-nomians often use to try to take us away from Torah and lead us to “freedom.” Today, we look at 2nd Corinthians 3, which includes an involved discussion on the “new covenant,” “old covenant” and a “veil” over it, “ministry of the spirit,” “ministry of condemnation/death” and “ministry of righteousness.” As this passage is commonly interpreted, Paul taught that Christ abolished the “old covenant,” doing away…

We are continuing our New Testament study on the New Covenant as revealed in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Before figuring out “different gospel” Paul is speaking against in the letter to the Galatians, we should look at what “gospel” he presented to the Galatian congregations, as recorded in Acts 13:14-52.

We continue to explore the “gospel” that Paul delivered to the Galatians by reading what is recorded of his messages to those congregations and his parallel explanations in letter to other congregations. Today, we explore Ephesians 2-4 and its discussion of the “new man” and “old man.”

Who makes us holy? Paul calls his hearers to remember that it is Yeshua who makes us holy. Yeshua makes us holy when He creates in us a new heart. We discover the definition of sin and the remedy for sin in the same text. Paul is not giving the Galatians a new Torah, a new teaching. He is sending them back to the old ways that were there all along yet hidden and ignored. We explore the “new covenant” transformation from “old self” to “new self” in Colossians 2–4 and Romans 5-7.

Galatians in general and chapters 2 and 3 in particular frequently are used to prove that observing the Law isn’t required for believers. However, the discussion of “justification” and “works of [the] law” in this passage reinforces that the real problem was excluding “justified” believers in God and His Messiah from membership in Israel, whose constitution is the Law of God.

Galatians 4, with its discussion of freedom from being “under [the] law” and not of the Jerusalem related to the flesh, is often cited by those who argue that observing the Torah is a backward step for believers in Messiah Yeshua. However, considering what Paul already wrote in chapters 1 through 3 and the parallel discussion in Romans 5–7, his point in this chapter is that both Jews and non-Jews are in the same situation without God’s method of salvation, which isn’t God’s Law. Yet God’s goal for humanity long-term is heart-led obedience to His Law.

Paul’s discussions of circumcision, mainly in Galatians, Philippians and Romans, have been interpreted as being condemnation against the Torah, because the Law calls for circumcision for newborns and those wanting to participate in key parts of worship of God. However, it must be remembered that circumcision by the first century A.D. had become an “identity marker” separating Jews from non-Jews. Like observance of Shabbat, circumcision was listed among the “works of [the] law” in the Dead Sea Scrolls that defined those separate from the corrupt religious system around the time of the first century. The rite of circumcision could be behind…

The Christ-like life is compared to a race, but it’s not a cut-throat competition against our fellow believers. We are to help one another reach the ultimate goal. The “fruit of the Spirit” that are given to us by God to help us and others in this life are not a “grab bag” that we can pick and chose which fruits we want. We should want them all and use them all and we should share them with our fellow believers and the world at large. We are also called to understand that God is the same yesterday, today and…

What is the “different gospel” Paul is excoriating the congregations of Galatia? This study from the <aGalatians series explored Paul’s authority as an apostle sent by Christ to preach the true gospel. The discussion covered how Paul’s message aligned with Yeshua’s teachings on the law (especially, Matt. 5:17–19), and debated what constituted distorting the gospel message. Other topics included first century Judaism, the role of tradition, biblical prophecy, and the importance of the New Covenant’s promise of a new heart and spirit.

Paul emphasized in Galatians 1:10-14 that Yeshua (Jesus) is the only way for humanity to enter God’s Presence. Paul rejected tradition (halachah, “way of walking”) he previously held as a Pharisee that taught a different way of salvation, a “different gospel”: be converted via circumcision to be part of Israel (Acts 15:1). Paul, as Yeshua’s apostle, affirmed Yeshua’s teachings on the enduring primacy of the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5:17-19; Luke 16:16-17). Yeshua taught Paul on the Damascus road why that “different gospel” must be rejected (Acts 22:3-15; 26:15-18). While Paul considered that halachah as “loss,” he maintained others (worship on Shabbat) that…