The “works of the Law” Part 2…
Here in Ephesians it’s called
“the law of commandments” contained in the ordinances. These are the
“works of the law” that Paul spoke of in Galatians 3. In no wise is it speaking of abolishing the 10 commandments, but rather they are amplified in the law of Christ.
Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;
It speaks of the same here as it says
Hebrews 9:10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation.
Whereas here again, when it says,
,
Col. 2:16-18 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
And is also followed up showing what Hebrews 9:10 shows in the above
Col. 2:17-18 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
In the one it shows abolishing the same i
n his flesh, whereas the other says taking it out of the way
nailing it to his cross. Therefore the requirements of the Levitical priesthood (
Hebrews 9:1,6-10)
sometimes called the law, which were part of the penalty of sin, were blotted out.
"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins...
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
once for all"
(Hebrews 10:4,10).
In the OT the blood of animal sacrifices was a covering for sin, but in the NT the blood of Christ takes away sin. There is no such thing as being coved by the blood in the NT that was invented by men during the Reformation.
Jesus' one sacrifice, was, and is sufficient--we do not have to sacrifice animals anymore! Nor follow any other Ordinances of Moses such as the requirement (which is related) would be the death penalty of sin, as
"the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23), or other specific ceremonial penalties associated with the Old Testament statutes (such as making a sin offering, being put outside the camp, or priestly washings, etc).
Galatians 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Hebrews 7:11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Those who boasted in having the law of GOD misrepresented GOD were accursed themselves as well blocking others from entering the kingdom
(Mat. 23). Therefore, those who needed the mercy of those who did boast in the law were lost because of the lack of love and mercy. The same MO has operated in Institutionalized Christendom over the past 1600 years, and is still operating within the established churches today. (the house of the Nicolaitanes).
When Paul talks about "works of the law" and ordinances he is placing a strong emphasis on the observance of Moses, while having minimized or neglected the inner condition of the heart. Jesus remained critical of those who rested in their observance of Moses rather than the mercy of God. HE also made the distinction between "works of the law" and "the works of faith."
The Jews had gone from the abominable extreme of openly worshiping pagan Idols and their god’s in Jeremiahs day, to the other extreme of worshiping the Torah in Jesus day, yet both fostered a life of sin. In this like manner, Christianity has adopted their own "works of the law", teaching that God's grace is best achieved by means of the sacraments such as (cracker wine ceremony, baptism, church attendance, etc.) all the while claiming to be in the age of grace. Seeking to be justified by adhering to some set of dead ordinances will only result in vanity and folly. This is why Paul said they
frustrate grace.
God, through His long suffering, has graced the entire world, but God is not going to grace anyone into repenting, therefore the Lord leads
men to repent. Repentance itself isn't a gift. It's a command. Opportunity to repent and be reconciled by God is the free gift, in that man should see the evil of his ways and turn from such doings. Repentance is not the free gift but the call to righteousness..
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent:" Acts 17:30
Jesus taught to obey the moral law of God:
"these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Matt.23:23
"The other" being the Spirit of the law.
Continuing on in Galatians chapter 3.
3-13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
At first glance one might think that verse 13 is lending support to the
Penal-Substitution-Transfer doctrine, but if closely examined we can see otherwise. The works of Christ at Calvary redeemed all believers that should live by faith, inclusive of the Gentiles who were also brought into the one fold, that they too might be Abraham’s seed by faith and heirs to the promise…
redeemed us from the curse of the law: The curse of the law is the condemnation of the law to all those in rebellion to God….The blood of Christ undoes the curse pronounced upon all who failed to keep its precepts, via deliverance from the curse by way of ransom through the conditional established tenants of the New Covenant which sets the captives free, (Christ purchased our souls from the bondage of sin/curse at Calvary)…. ,
being made a curse for us: This was done at the hands of evil doers, therefore being treated
as if He himself were accursed, which is contrary to the virtuous exchange program taught in the Penal Substation heresy. The important concept to understand here is that the laying down of His life was done on our behalf, not in our place. Therefore knowing that first: the curse identifies itself with its object: which seizes,
as it were, upon the person of its condemnation, in other words (the wages of sin is death, and the wrath of God is upon the children of disobedience).Therefore these were not victims of the curse like the Penal Model teaches, but rather criminals against the law. For it is written, dawn by Paul from
Deuteronomy 21:23,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree….The reference point that Paul emphasis is that of the exposure of the cursed body upon a gibbet after death was to be an example to others. Notwithstanding, an accursed person, a person ignominiously (discredited & humiliated) punished as a malefactor should be taken down at sunset: however, not because Jesus was really a malefactor and the object of God’s wrath, but because he was punished by evil doers in the
same manner in which accursed persons or malefactors were punished according to the civil law of Moses
. Hence, in the same day in which a criminal was executed it was ordered that his body should be buried, that the land might not be polluted.
NOTE: Christ, who died on our behalf
, was not a transgressor, but he was unjustly numbered among the transgressors,
Isaiah 53:12. In doing so the Lord Jesus bore the burden of the penalty of the Law on our behalf. His sufferings, through a great act of love, were for the purpose of justifying the longsuffering and mercy of the Father. Note: the Father was always looking for a reason of justification that His mercy might be dispensed upon mankind because by nature His mercy is greater than His anger. His mercy (the free gift) triumphs over His wrath upon all those that should repent,
Exodus 34-7, "but that in no wise will redeem/reconcile/atone for the unrepeated".
3-15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Jesus said “it is finished”. Meaning the NT (covenant) had been established and confirmed of God. Paul says no man can either extinguish or build upon this living Testimony of Christ.
3-16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed (past tense) before of God in Christ, (past tense)
the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Side note: “And he (Christ) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” Daniel 9-27a , seen in
Mathew 26-28 For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins. The 70[SUP]th[/SUP] week of Daniel was confirmed 2000 years ago. It’s not a future event to come. The 70[SUP]th[/SUP] week was a total of 7 years in which this prophecy given to the Jews by Daniel was to be fulfilled. The first 3 ½ years began with Christs baptism and ended with His death, then at Pentecost the disciples were given power from on High by the Holy Ghost and became a witness to Jerusalem for another 3 ½ years until the death of Stephan. After that the gospel went out of Judea unto Samaria and the utter parts of the earth
. A fulfillment of
Acts 1-8..
The promise to Abraham was to his “seed” (singular, Christ) not as to his many descendants by the flesh, but through one in the person of Jesus Christ by faith.
The old Mosaic covenant given to the Hebrew children in the Sanai wilderness was 430 years after God called Abraham out of the Or of Chaldees in Gen 12. Even though they did not keep that covenant with God HE still has a promise to keep with faithful Abraham. So the breaking of the covenant cannot disannul God’s promise. That promise was fulfilled in the Messiah, the seed of Abraham.
3-18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Beings that they kept not the covenant, and if the promise was dependent upon the old covenant it would have been disannulled. However it was not, because God made the promise to Abraham by faith. Hence all those in Christ are Abraham’s seed by faith.
3-19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Paul asked the Judaizes amongst the people; why do you serve the Mosaic law ? The Mosaic law was added after Moses brought down the 10 commandments from Sanai whereas the children of Israel rebelled against God. Because of that disobedience the Mosaic Law was added until Christ the seed of Abraham should come. It was only added after Moses brought down the 10 commandments and found them worshiping the golden calf, Exodus 32. God had already planned ahead on making a new covenant with His people. The Mosaic Covenant was not meant to be everlasting, but only temporary for the purpose of a school master until the Messiah should come. Moses did not appear in behalf of the Gentile nations as they had no representative there. However, now the grace of God, in the person of Christ, via the Holy Spirit, that brings salvation hath appeared to ALL men,
Titus 2-11.
3-20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Now a mediator is not a mediator of one.—The very idea of a mediator involves a covenant in biblical terms between at least two parties. In the biblical sense it’s speaking of two parties (God and man). The Law of the Old Covenant had a mediator in the person of Moses, therefore the Law involves two parties. Thus there can be no mediator of one. Example, (God and Noah), (God and Abraham)… The promise was made to Abraham with reference to the Messiah, the great Mediator, and the promise was that the Gentiles would also be brought into the fold, (many nations).
For this to happen a new covenant needed to be established in the person of Jesus Christ
. But the Lord God is one in UNITY - He is the one God, comprised of 3 persons who is the Creator of the souls of all flesh; the God of both the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Therefore;
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: Is it possible that the intervention of the law, in reference to one part of the Abrahamic seed by flesh, should disannul the promise made to the other? Askes Paul…f
or if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.- If any law or rule of life could have been found out that would have given eternal life and forgiveness of past sins – “ie” saved sinners from death and made them whole again, then righteousness- justification, should have been by that Law of Moses. The blood of animals could only cover sin. The blood of Christ DOES NOT COVER SIN, but rather it TAKES AWAY SIN. One of the six things listed in
Daniel 9-24, observed in person by John the baptizer in
John 1-29b..
3-22 But the scripture hath concluded all (both Jew & Gentile) under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus might be given to them that believe.
I don't think Paul is speaking of all men as being sinners engaged in willful rebellion to God as the fullness of scripture testifies otherwise, however he is speaking of the Jewish and Gentile nations as a whole. As we know there were some righteous men and women that followed the Lord according to their measure.
3-23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Here Paul is speaking of the Israel as a nation, because we know
Hebrews 11 speaks of the many that lived by faith. Albeit they had not the testimony of Jesus, henceforth they lived by faith in the Messiah to come. The Law of Moses was a schoolmaster, in that its ordinances were shadows that pointed to the Messiah being the true substance and the eventual release from those ordinances through His grace and truth. That which was once glorious,(2 Cor. 3) had waxed away as the veil was rent twain and made way for that which is much more glorious in the person of Jesus the Anointed One and the New Covenant.
If we examine one named Nathanael in the NT, we can see he was faithful and obedient sitting
under the fig tree (figurative of the OT law), and in doing so he easily recognized the Messiah when Jesus approached him, therefore ready to receive and increase of the Spirit.. The law had truly been a schoolmaster pointing to Christ in the case of Nathaniel’s life. Small note: I also believe it was a literal fig tree that Nathaniel sat under as well.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
The Torah that had waxed away became of little to no use to those who had become believers of the New Covenant through faith in Jesus Christ by reason of the glory that excelled in Him,
2 Cor. 3-10,11.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
All that have been baptized in the Holy Ghost through repentance have put on the ways of Christ having picked up their cross to follow Him.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
All are one in the house of God, Jew and Gentile alike, for God is no respecter of persons, both male or female, rich or poor. In following Christ, to whom the promise was made, we become children of Abraham by faith and are heirs according to the promise God made to him..
Willie