Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

corpus-paul - Re: the role of the law in salvation-history

corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Corpus-Paul

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "moon-ryul jung" <moon AT sogang.ac.kr>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: the role of the law in salvation-history
  • Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 01:03:29 -0400


Mark, let me quote what you wrote in a hierarchy:

(1)
This whole point in 3:10-14 is merely a part of a larger point, and if
that
larger argument is kept in view, then it will not take on the kind of
universal value it often does in Pauline discussions. Becoming Law-people
will not offer to these particular non-Law-people what they think it will
without also subverting what has initiated this interest in the first
place.
For them it would represent a curse instead of a blessing, a moving
backwards, as though they are not participating in the time-line created
by
Christ for them as non-Israelites (for an Israelite there is a curse and a
blessing, but these non-Israelites benefit from the blessing without the
curse). Why would they want to do that? is his point, for he thinks that
they have not considered the matter in such terms, and will be persuaded
by
this and other points not to proceed on that other course (5:10).

(2)
--------------------------------
For them it would represent a curse instead of a blessing, a moving
backwards, as though they are not participating in the time-line created
by
Christ for them as non-Israelites (for an Israelite there is a curse and a
blessing, but these non-Israelites benefit from the blessing without the
curse).
---------------------------------

(3) for an Israelite there is a curse and a
blessing, but these non-Israelites benefit from the blessing without the
curse.

This is a very surprising statement. I am happy that I forced you enough
to put this statement down:-)

Let me try to make sense of Paul again.
The point is that these non-Israelite believers were in a good shape
enjoying the blessing of the age to come in Christ. Trying to identify
with Israelites, in a backward move, would put them under the threat of
curse [3:10]
Because, for Israel there is a blessing and a curse in relation to their
law [as declared by the prophets and as realized in history several times
and even
now].
There is no point in that backward move.
In fact, Christ redeemed us [Gentiles] from the curse of the law (Gal
3:13)
[which is the fate of Israel as the Law-people],
that to the nations might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus,
that we [Gentiles] might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith
[Gal 3:14ab].

[The reasons that I take "us" to refer to the Gentiles are twofold.
(1) "we" refer to Jews only 2:15, where we have explicit indicators
ie. "we ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners".
Unless otherwise stated, therefore, it is natural to think that Paul
uses
"we" to refer to the Gentile believers in the Galatian church.
Paul identifies him with them as the leader of the congregation.

(2) "you" and "we" are used interchangeably throughout the letter.
E.g. 4:5-6. "so that we might receive the sonship. Because you are
sons,
God sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts"
"You" and "we" are interchanged even in a single sentence
in 4:6.
]

Gal 3:14ab repeats 3:1-9, especially Gal 3:8,9 (the blesssing of Abraham
for all nations)
and Gal 3:2 (receiving the Spirit through faith). It means that Gal
3:10-13
is a sort of digress introduced to affirm the claims of Gal 3:1-9 from a
different
perspective. The key thesis of Gal 3:10-13 is Gal 3:13, because it
enables the conclusions of Gal 3:14ab. But what does "redeeming the
Gentiles
from the curse of the Law" mean in this context?

In this context, Howard's suggestion is attractive. He says that
"They[Jews] were redeemed from the suppressing force of the law which
separated Jew from Gentile and held back the universal unity which
was destined to come."

According to my rendering, it is the Gentiles who were redeemed from the
suppressing
force of the law which did not allow them to get access to God without
becoming
Jews. That can be certainly called the "curse of the law" for the
Gentiles.
But it is not compatible with the meaning and implication of the "curse"
in Gal 3:10ab.
There it is the curse that the law pronounces to those who fail to obey
it. So, let me
suggest the following:

Christ redeemed us Gentiles from the potential curse of the law by
enabling us
to get access to God directly by faith in Christ. If they had to get
access to God
via Israel, via the law of Israel, then they would have been under the
poential
curse of the law. But they was enabled to bypass the law, thereby was
redeemed
from the potential curse of the law.

This solution does not say anything negative about the law-observance of
Israelites, except for the non-controversial fact that there is a blessing
and a curse in relation to the law.

So, Paul's point was: You have already been redeemed from the potential
curse of the law, because you do not have to come to God via the law of
Israel. Why do you want to undermine what you already have in Christ?

Here I am not trying to make some universal theological point out of the
fact that
for Israel under the law, there is a blessing and a curse in relation to
the
law. I do not know what kinds of theological points can be legitimately
made
from this fact. But it was threatening enough to discourage Paul's
audience
from adopting the way of Jews.

What do you think?

Moon
Moon R. Jung
Associate Professor
Sogang Univ, Seoul, Korea






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page