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Caught between “lawlessness” and “legalism”? This Galatians prep study dives into Paul’s gospel in context—tracing themes from Torah, Acts 13 & 15, Colossians 2–3, and Romans 5–7. We explore the clash between “old self” and “new self,” what was really “nailed to the cross,” and who actually makes us holy. See how the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of the Spirit meet in Messiah, and why God’s law still matters for a Spirit-led, transformed life.
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.
The Central Question: Who Makes Us Holy?
A repeated theme is captured by the Hebrew phrase אֲשֶׁר מְקַדְּשֵׁנוּ (asher mekadshenu, “who makes us holy”). This phrase crystallizes the central question: does holiness come from human effort under the Torah, or from God’s action through Messiah, or both in distinct roles?
This question appears under the surface of the disputes addressed in Acts 15, where the apostles consider what is required of Gentiles who turn to God (Acts 15:1–21). It shapes Paul’s arguments in Galatians, Romans, and Colossians. When Paul warns of “a different gospel” in Galatians 1:6–9, the issue is not only doctrine in the abstract, but the practical matter of where believers locate their confidence for righteousness and holiness.
The Pendulum: Lawlessness and Legalism
The study describes a “pendulum” that swings between two extremes. On one side stands lawlessness, often justified by a misreading of “freedom” in Paul. This view treats the Torah as obsolete and sees grace as license. On the other side stands legalism, commonly identified with “Judaizing,” where obedience to specific commandments is treated as the basis of justification before God.
Second Corinthians 3 provides a framework for this tension. Paul contrasts “the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones” with “the ministry of the Spirit” and “the ministry of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 3:7–9). The passage shows that the same Torah which exposes sin and brings condemnation also anticipates and points forward to the ministry of the Spirit and righteousness in Messiah. The problem does not lie in the Torah itself, but in human sinfulness under it.
Old Self and New Self in Colossians
Colossians 2–3 clarifies how identity in Messiah transforms the believer’s relationship to sin and to the Torah. Colossians 2:9–10 states that in Messiah “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,” and believers have been made complete in Him (Colossians 2:9–10). In Him they receive a circumcision “made without hands,” by “the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11).
Colossians 2:13–14 describes former spiritual death “in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh.” God made believers alive together with Messiah, “having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us… and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13–14). The focus falls on the “certificate of debt,” not on the abolition of God’s righteous standard.
Colossians 3 then turns to the ethical implications. Believers must “consider the members of your earthly body as dead” to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (Colossians 3:5). They once walked in these things (Colossians 3:7). Now they must put them all aside, “since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self” (Colossians 3:9–10). The new self is “being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Colossians 3:10).
This renewal erases ethnic and social distinctions as the basis of status: “a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). The traditional Jewish identity marker of circumcision remains meaningful historically, but the decisive marker in Messiah is the inner work of God that creates the new self.
The Ark, the Law, and the Mercy Seat
Discussion of the Ark of the Covenant connects the role of the law and the provision of mercy. The tablets of the Ten Commandments serve as a “witness” against Israel when they transgress (cf. Exodus 25:16; Deuteronomy 31:26). The law stands as an objective standard. When broken, it testifies to guilt and demands the penalty, often death.
Yet the ark is covered by the כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet, “mercy seat”), where the blood is applied on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:14–15). Above the commandments rests the visible symbol of God’s presence and mercy. The same Torah that records the commandments also prescribes the sacrificial system and the annual atonement, pointing to a divine provision that covers transgression.
This dual function of the Torah—condemning sin and pointing to atonement—shapes the understanding of Paul’s language about the “ministry of condemnation” and “ministry of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 3:9). The Torah exposes sin and sets forth its penalty. At the same time, the Torah embeds the promise of a future, decisive atonement that finds fulfillment in Messiah’s death and resurrection.
The Law: Against Us and For Us
The group notes that the Torah is not inherently “against” humanity. The commandments define righteousness and protect life. They become “against” people when transgressed. The penalty is what stands opposed, not the goodness of the commandments themselves. Romans 7:12 summarizes this tension: “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12).
Yet Paul also describes how the commandment, through sin, produces death (Romans 7:9–11). The problem resides in sin and in the flesh, not in the Torah (Romans 7:13–14). The law thus functions both as a blessing when obeyed and as a witness against transgressors.
In this framework, Messiah’s work addresses the penalty. Through His death, Messiah removes the “certificate of debt” and sets believers free from condemnation, not from all moral obligation. The cross does not invalidate God’s standards; it provides a way of forgiveness and a new power to walk in them.
The Torah as Punitive and Redemptive
The Torah appears not only as a system of commandments with penalties, but also as a prophetic and typological witness to redemption. Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy present sacrifices, priestly intercession, and covenant promises that anticipate a greater atonement. The sacrificial blood, the high priest’s ministry, and the appointed times serve as “shadows of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16–17).
This dual role counters the idea that Torah is merely punitive. The same corpus that pronounces death for sin introduces substitutionary sacrifice and covenant mercy. When read in this light, the Torah teaches both the seriousness of sin and the certainty of God’s redemptive plan.
The New Covenant: New Heart and New Mind
The study connects Paul’s language of “old self” and “new self” with the New Covenant promises in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jeremiah 31:31–34 announces a covenant in which God puts His law within His people and writes it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Ezekiel 36:26–27 describes a new heart and a new spirit, with God’s Spirit causing Israel to walk in His statutes and be careful to observe His ordinances (Ezekiel 36:26–27).
These promises reframe obedience. The issue is not abandonment of God’s commandments, but transformation of the inner person so that obedience flows from a renewed heart and mind. The Hebrew concept of heart (לֵב, lev) includes will, emotions, and motivations, while the mind covers thought, understanding, and discernment. The Spirit writes God’s ways into both realms.
Psalm 119 then appears as a model of this renewed desire. The psalm repeatedly speaks of “walking” in God’s Torah, statutes, and commandments. This imagery links to Paul’s later exhortation to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), suggesting that true walking in the Spirit does not contradict the word God has already spoken, but aligns with it.
Romans 6–7: Dead to Sin, Alive to God
Romans 6:1–11 addresses a common misunderstanding of grace. If sin magnifies grace, should believers “continue in sin so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1). Paul answers, “May it never be!” Believers have died to sin and cannot live in it as their ruling sphere (Romans 6:2).
Baptism into Messiah Yeshua unites believers with His death and resurrection. They are “buried with Him through baptism into death” so that, just as Messiah was raised, they too “might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). The “old self was crucified with Him” so that the “body of sin” might be rendered powerless, and believers should no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6).
Romans 7 then explores the inner conflict under the law apart from this new life. A person recognizes the goodness of the commandment yet finds another law in his members waging war, leading to the cry, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). Romans 8 follows with the answer: freedom comes “in Christ Jesus” through the Spirit, not through the flesh (Romans 8:1–4).
In this light, grace does not cancel the moral content of the Torah. Grace transfers the believer into a new realm of existence, where sin no longer reigns and where obedience flows from union with Messiah and the indwelling Spirit.
The Law of Messiah and Every Word of God
The discussion introduces the expression “law of Christ” or “law of Messiah” (cf. Galatians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 9:21). This phrase does not imply that Messiah abolishes the words previously given by God. In Matthew 5:17–19, Yeshua states that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them, and that not the smallest letter or stroke will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Yeshua responds to the adversary in the wilderness with Deuteronomy: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3). This stance affirms the continuing authority of the written word of God. Any claimed leading of the Spirit must align with what God has already spoken. Deuteronomy 13 sets the standard: if a sign or wonder-worker leads people away from God’s commandments, that message does not come from Him (Deuteronomy 13:1–4).
The “law of Messiah” therefore harmonizes with the Torah rightly understood. Messiah embodies and interprets the Torah, reveals its full intent, and empowers obedience through the Spirit, but does not authorize disregard for God’s revealed standards.
Works of the Law and Identity Markers
The study concludes by previewing a closer examination of the phrase “works of the law” in Galatians 2–3. In Paul’s context, “law” can refer to the written Torah, to later halakhic interpretations, or to a blend of both. “Works of the law” may therefore include specific boundary markers—such as circumcision, food laws, and calendar observance—used to define group identity and covenant status.
Paul insists that justification does not come “by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 2:16). Yet he also portrays the law as a tutor leading to Messiah (Galatians 3:24). The challenge lies in distinguishing reliance on works of law for justification from Spirit-empowered obedience as the fruit of faith.
Future study of Galatians 1:10 through chapter 3 will explore how Paul confronts distortions of the gospel while still affirming the goodness of God’s Torah and the unity of Jew and Gentile in Messiah.
Conclusion
The study presents Paul’s gospel as fully rooted in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. The Torah exposes sin and demands judgment, yet simultaneously points to God’s provision of atonement and to the New Covenant promise of a transformed heart and mind. Messiah’s death removes the certificate of debt and breaks the power of sin, while His Spirit writes God’s ways on the inner person.
In this framework, the believer does not stand under condemnation. The believer also does not live in lawlessness. Instead, the believer walks as a new creation, dead to sin and alive to God, trusting that אֲשֶׁר מְקַדְּשֵׁנוּ (asher mekadshenu, “He who makes us holy”) both declares righteousness in Messiah and leads into a path of practical righteousness according to His word.
Reader: Bill K. Speaker: Jeff.
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